Missouri in the fall can be beautiful and full of color. This isn't going to show that as we went a few weeks early. However, we explored a part of my parents' property we hadn't gone to in a long time (or at least I hadn't been in awhile). My dad has a tractor so we rode on the back in a little mini trailer. I'll have to take a photo of what it really is at some point.
Down the gravel road first to visit neighbors. Artie, my parents black and white dog, came with us. We left their hound mix at home. She's a short, little thing that just can't keep up with us. Or come back when called.
It was a little chilly that day, unlike a few other days since, but just enough to actually feel the chill of what's to come. Nate got to try out his new hat.
Into the trees we go! Give it a couple more weeks, if that, and it'll be bright orange and yellow!
Poor Miss Lily, sporting a bruise from school. But the girl loves her wildflowers and would grab them as we drove by. Luckily she didn't reach for the poison ivy! By the way, did you know poison ivy turns a very pretty red in the fall? It's like a little reminder of "stop, don't touch!" (as if we needed a reason!).
Nate's almost 2. Which means he's into everything that goes - cars, trucks, buses, trains, and tractors. This is his happy face for two reasons - he's on a tractor ride, his first really, and he's with his grandparents (my parents). This sums up his feeling on most everything we did that day!
And since it's in the woods, there are mysterious growths and things all around. Doug spotted this weird fungus under a fallen tree.
My parents have a couple small creeks that run through their property. I love going to look at them and how nature has taken its toll over the years. This little circle cave, above, was big enough for a small animal to bury into.
And we actually found an area that held water! I had never seen this area before so it was so cool to see. There were actually small fish, lots of frogs, and some craw dads (crayfish) in it. We haven't had a big rain awhile, we were wondering how long the fish had been in there. Some were close to 3-4" long. Next time I'm bringing a net!
The side of the cliff, all full of layered rocky goodness. And moss too.
The downside of early fall in Missouri? Ask poor Artie, and my mom who had to help him with the burrs. My dad has since gone and mowed a lot of the weeds down so when we go back, it won't be so crazy. But poor Artie was the worst of all of us. He also went farther than any of us, always checking on random farm smells. He was one happy dog though!
Do you get to go outside and enjoy nature? Where do you live?
We went to a local pumpkin patch this past weekend and look forward to more outdoor adventures at the farm in weeks to come. We still need to get some more rocks for our backyard herb spiral (it's a work in progress from our spring collection of rocks) so we'll be out soon. Hopefully once it cools down more to kill off bugs.
I'll be back soon for a bathroom update. Hint: it involves our medicine cabinets!
Looks like a Lion's Mane mushroom.
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