Getting Ready for Fall

I know, autumn is a couple of weeks away, but Back-to-School sales and Halloween candy filling a corner of the grocery store has me focusing on this seasonal transition. Go for a walk with your kids (you might be able to do this in your backyard) and look for ten signs that the season is changing. You’ll find the single red leaf, the yellowing grass, and the birds gathering in flocks as they prepare for their southward journey.

Although it is too early to start hunting for favorite fallen leaves, kids can start going through the backyard gathering the toys strewn about from the summer. Box up one summer toy each day, a small ritual acknowledging the quick trip toward autumn. Make summer special with things devoted to that season. And, make autumn special by bringing in things for this season – you and your children can think of what those things can be (bringing the sweaters down from the attic, putting an apple picking trip on the calendar, etc).

What's Up?

Originally published 3/14/2011 at explorealongtheway.com

At this time of year, when I go for a walk, I tend to look down. I’ve always been a bit of a klutz and I feel safer keeping my eye on ice, mud, sand, and the inevitable potholes. This morning, I forced myself to look up.

It wasn’t difficult. The juncos and black-capped chickadees kept zipping across my path. I was berated by more than one crow, although the robins quietly watched my walk past their perches in the trees. I did see two hawks sitting next to one another on a branch, which brought many happy feelings and a big, “awww.”

A single sycamore leave twisted at the end of its limb. Squirrel drays, round nests of oak leaves nestled in the crotch of trees. I started counting them (I count a lot of things after thirteen years of taking kids into the woods) and then lost track of the drays as I tried to figure out if the shape in the distance was a male turkey or a really convincing shrub.

If when you walk outdoors you normally stare straight ahead or look down, try looking up every so often. At this time of year you can watch the buds on the trees swell and then burst. You can catch the songbirds claiming their territories as they chase away the competition. And, one of my favorites, looking for interesting shapes in clouds.

Looking up isn’t a hard thing to do. However, when I watch many people walk along, their eyes never gaze skyward. Chances are, though, that on the way to looking up you’ll find yourself looking around and perhaps finding some small joy in what nature is presenting.