Hello to all! We have completed our move and are mostly unpacked with the exception of the schoolroom and the storage areas (basement, garage). It feels good to be settling into our new home. We have missed a chunk of my favorite month of the year due to all the packing and moving but we have managed to enjoy ourselves nonetheless. :) There is still plenty of autumn left and we intend to spend most of it outdoors.
October in our area of the country is such a gorgeous month with the vibrantly colored leaves and the mild temperatures. Only in the past two days has the weather gotten crisp enough for a jacket. The furnace has clicked on a few times and reminded me that the cold weather is on its way. Today, I pulled the annual flowers from the yard that had been hit with frost. They were here before we came and had run their course. I am transferring some perennials from the old place this afternoon in hopes that they will take, although it is so late in the season.
Our new home is surrounded by woods and we are enjoying the fresh nature palate to study. While washing dishes, I regularly see white-tailed deer from the kitchen window. It is their mating season so it is not uncommon for us to see two or three does with young ones and an antlered buck following close behind. There are many woodpeckers and chickadees that visit the yard. Another interesting nature note is that all the squirrels here are black. They look just like a common squirrel but are jet black rather than tan.
The children have been spending a good portion of each day playing in the woods and hiking. There is a ravine with a small stream and a variety of trees to identify. The remaining weeks of fall will be busy exploring, tromping through leaves and getting to know a new chunk of land.
