autumn's pleasures- the simple and the splendid

A plan to try a run / bike on the trail by Cedar River and then meet friends Keri, Taryn and Erik turned into a four hour outing, complete with a wild leaf-tossing extravaganza.

Conclusion #1: I can run at the right pace for Eva to bike, Naomi to bike, (I think, she was on the scooter today) and Josiah to scooter. Looking forward to another try! What freedom!

Conclusion # 2: Children can find more pleasure in a pile of leaves than in anything at Toys-R-Us, I'm convinced!

Conclusion # 3: A warm, sunny October day, spent outdoors, in good company, under a canopy of brilliantly colored leaves is a gift to be treasured.

Other than jumping in the leaves, the children all delighted themselves by eating the last of the blackberries growing along the trail, throwing rocks in to the river and picking up some creepy crawly things.

A super-worm, which was actually Erik's find, but they passed him around...

Josiah's find, below, is a little garter snake. If you think he looks a little limp, and doesn't seem to be coiling around in a healthy snake way, that is because he is not alive. He was found dead, but that didn't seem to deter Siah from keeping him as a pet. He stuck him in his sweatshirt pocket to show Erik when he came. As we were sitting on a rock eating apples in the sun, he patted his pocket and casually observed, "Bet m'snake's gettin' real hot in there." Fortunately, he was a responsible animal steward, and self-lessly "let him go" in the river within the following hour.