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Aspen Trees in the Fall-Salmon-And a Bear

What a wonderful afternoon drive we had yesterday! The fall colors were popping out all around us and we were pointing out the car windows, totally amazed at the colorful show we could see as we drove along.

The aspens were glorious and the sun even made a brief showing in the late afternoon.Walking along the path under the aspens, I remembered why I love this variety of tree.

Here is our regular stretch of beach at the lake. We indulged in a picnic dinner of roast chicken and salad and then realized that we were all alone at the beach for the first time ever. It was quiet except for the Stellar’s jays.

The three boys were erecting driftwood and rock sculptures while the rest of us took a walk out onto the dock. The sun was beginning to set and we very reluctantly started back to the car.

Earlier in the afternoon, we also went to see the Kokanee salmon spawning in the creek and these signs were something new in the last few weeks. Apparently there are three mama bears with cubs in this area and they are feasting on salmon during the spawning period.

While we were observing the salmon in the creek….a bear was spotted on the opposite side of the water. The bear was totally and completely uninterested in us humans and she went about its business of eating and foraging around in the bushes. We did get a really great view of the bear and I was too busy watching her to take a photo. I do not have a very good zoom on my little camera so it would probably not have turned out very well anyway. Take my word for it, this was not a scary encounter at all. There were a lot of salmon to occupy the bear and a lot of water inbetween us. We watched for a few minutes and then hiked along the path.

There is nothing mentioned in the Handbook of Nature Study about the salmon but I was surprised to find a section on goldfish. I read over the observation suggestions and they were quite good so we will be including a study of our goldfish when the weather is too yucky to go outside. There is always some way to fit nature study in if you are diligent.


We found a lot of interesting feathers on this hike. I love this polka dotted one the best. I am guessing it is a woodpecker feather but I am not sure.

“The color of feathers and often their shape make some birds more beautiful; while in others, the color of the feathers serves to protect them from the observation of their enemies.”
Handbook of Nature Study, pages 31-32 about feathers as ornaments

What a great day for a family drive, hike, and picnic.

4 thoughts on “Aspen Trees in the Fall-Salmon-And a Bear

  1. Seriously! Bears!?! Yep, I would have seen that sign and high tailed it outta there!

    We are going to go camping this coming weekend, but I picked a place right on the ocean with the hopes that there won’t be any bears to be seen!

    Maybe someday I’ll get over this irrational fear. I do hope so because I know that I am missing some great stuff here!

  2. Beautiful pics!
    I’ve never seen a feather like that!

  3. Your pictures are beautiful! Seeing the leaves changing color is so pretty, being in Florida we don’t get much of that.

  4. Barb…I did it! I successfully went camping in CA! I even slept in the tent all night and not in the car! My husband was very happy about that. We went to Half Moon Bay and stayed right on the beach so no, we did not see any bears! :0)
    I am going to post pics soon.

    We saw things we have never seen before (Pelicans…they are amazing! Sea lions…we were able to get pretty close…and Sanderlings…those little birds move fast!) and plan to follow up with a unit study on the seashore.

    Still planning a trip in your direction soon!

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