Our November World and Some Reflections of a Nature Study Mom

I headed out with the boys for a walk in our neighborhood to see what interested them from our November World. I tried hard to just listen and observe what they commented on or stopped to look at as we spent some time in the crisp November air….we are expecting snow any time now so the air is cold, about 38 degrees F. The wind howled last night and the rain came in but now snow yet.

Back to our walk….I made a mental list as we walked of all the things they noticed.

• Golden mushrooms- not very large and partially hidden under some fallen leaves.
• Dark clouds and little peep holes of blue shining through occasionally (Hey, look at the blue sky Mom!)
• The variety of colors of leaves on the ground.
• The differences between the two kinds of oaks we saw….one has big leaves and the other has small pointy leaves
• The sound of a crickets in the late afternoon.

Pretty good list for just a casual walk don’t you think?

I challenged myself to just take a walk and not bring my camera. I know how much I can be distracted by my own interests when I have the camera in my hand. I wanted on this walk, for this challenge to just spend time with the boys and notice things. I noticed that the air is different as the storm makes its way into our area, a sort of stillness that feels heavy. There is also a smell of dampness from the morning dew that isn’t present in the summer. There are still colors to be seen if you look closely and try to find them in the autumn weeds.

The birds seem more active when the weather is changing and after our walk I spent some time filling feeders and listening to the boys talk about the red-tailed hawk they saw earlier in the week, still gushing about its greatness and size.

It feels good to be living a life so close to our natural environment and learning about the lives of other creatures that cross our path. It is comforting to learn about the cycles of birth, growth, death, and then rebirth that takes place right in our own backyard. Yet, with all the knowledge of such things gained in years previous, we know there is so much more to glean as we keep inviting the opportunities to come by making time to get outdoors every week….just about every day.

Our November World has pretty much turned into a Winter World since I started writing this post a few days ago. We have had really cold temperatures and wild weather. It now feels like time to start thinking about winter nature study.

Stay warm,