I have been mulling over a few ideas in this rusty brain of mine for some reason lately.  In light of passing the year mark on my blogging journey, a bit of a pick me up with this wonderful ten-day workshop, and the weather being dramatically cooler I have decidedly come up with a plan.

This blog has inspired me to write (quite obviously), but also to be more mindful of my thoughts and creations.  With this inspiration, I have decided to begin a tracking of our weekly outdoor adventures and with the art and creativity that naturally is induced alongside every Thursday.  They will be simple things, they will be seasonal, they will be what my boys have inspired me to lead us to do.

I am very much looking forward to this new tradition.

Today we stepped out into the windswept morning with the sun in our eyes and the birds in our ears.  We noticed the hummingbirds have all but gone away and the swallow-tail are appearing a little less often than before.  We saw the trees showing just touches of color.  And then we noticed their pods growing fuzzy or sharp or red or long or skinny or anything that seeds tend to do when autumn is around the bend.  So, we did what we do, and we collected some of these treasures.

It was as simple as meandering around the yard chickens clucking at our heels spotting those little packets of hope.

When giving my oh so precise explanation of why trees drop seeds to my inquiring three-year old, I illustrated this event with the comparison of a pregnant mama.  I told him that is how they plant their babies.  We got down on our bellies, low under the thick velvet leaves of a magnolia, cleared away the brush and happened upon several pine seedlings.  I suppose in a way my explanation was sufficient.  But luck should have it, Friday we usually opt for the library, and surely I can find some lovely book on the life of a seed.  Any suggestions?

So with our new-found autumn gifts I had no choice but to finally begin a nature table for our own.  During my student teaching at an amazing chartered waldorf school I was exposed to so many magnificent insights on the innerworkings of the young child.  I can do nothing but be grateful for this experience that has quite honestly been a giant factor in the way I weave my days of mamahood.  So, this weekend let their be thrift shopping!  I am thrilled at the prospect of finding the perfect little end table that will withstand the tests of time.  And then of course to felt to my hearts delight creating figures of seasonal bliss.

So head on out into the world, no matter your age or if you have a little one in tote, have yourself an outdoor adventure, mix it with a little creative rapture and soak up some sweet fresh air.  Then, come back and tell me about it.