Autumn Outdoor Hour

The boys and I hit the river again for our Outdoor Hour with Barb. This week we were challenged to observe both the weather and the change of the seasons. We bundled up in our warmest and packed up some hot chocolate & sketch books and headed down.

The boys are so content just to go to the river, they didn't need to have a task or challenge. I kept them close long enough for us to make some observations.

Eli's took notice immediately, and saw that the sun was hidden by the fog and clouds. Fog was an item of great interest. When we looked it up: While fog is a type of a cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated locally (such as from a nearby body of water, like a lake or the ocean, or from nearby moist ground or marshes)

Summer or Autumn, rocks abound & are treasures for our pockets

We've discussed how the fog hovers over the river oftentimes in the morning and burns off as the sun rises.

We observed that the leaves in the trees are thinning and the rocks were covered, and that they make the gravel more comfortable to sit on.
The day's stats: 9:00 a.m Nov 5

47.8 degrees

Wind blows off the river, to the West

Dew on the rocks near the river, from the fog?

I printed out a simple weather chart, and contemplated investing in a barometer and rain & wind gauges. I know my husband will love these things. I plan to post the weather chart by the back door, with hopes that the boys will take readings as frequently as they like. (Thanks Barb, for this inspiration!)

Hot Chocolate, mugs abandoned

The boys stayed at our beach spot long enough to get warmed by hot drinks and visit, then they were off to explore. I crept up to the river trail where I could catch a view, reading from The Handbook of Nature Study about weather and the historical development of the study & prediction of.

Summer/ Autumn Contrast: Green tree leaves are now golden, yellow and brown ground leaves. The air is cooler, when the sun is out it's warm but not hot. We haven't been here long enough to notice where the sun is rising...that will come. Autumn has fewer bugs, snakes, critters but we still hear the birds in the nearby trees. The air smells wet.

Dandelions revisited; we didn't find a single blooming dandy, but many have gone to seed.

Before Eli blew these seeds off, I heard him whisper "God, I wish for sisters. Amen" Too cute!

Perhaps our favorite season monitor so far, the Sycamores in our yard. Beauties!! When we got home, the boys added treasure to our nature collection & sat down to nature journals to sketch. I regurgitated what I read in the Handbook, we discussed the chapter more.

What little boys are made of.

These little ones, the joy of my heart!