Colton cracks me up!

We were on a walk this afternoon when the following conversation occurred.....

Colton: What are those things hanging up there? (Pointing to pods hanging on a wisteria vine)
Me: Those are seed pods.
Colton: Oh, like an iPod.
Me: No, not exactly :-)

We Have Hummingbirds!

After purchasing a new feeder, waiting patiently for three weeks, and a lot of prayer- we finally have hummingbirds visiting our backyard! The one I saw today was a beautiful male. He swooped in a couple of times for a drink and then perched in one of our trees and sang for a bit. It was a little piece of heaven!

Apple Pickin' Fieldtrip

There was a really cool cottage bathroom near the apple orchard. I guess it's where they bathe after a hard day of work on the farm!

Anna and Colton helping Mommy pick Rome Beauty apples.

We went to Gabriel Farm to pick apples for a fun fall fieldtrip. Gabriel Farm grows certified organic apples, persimmons, and asian pears. The owner, Torrey, gave us a little tour and a lesson on proper apple picking technique so we wouldn't damage the trees. We picked about 15lbs of apples to use for pies, cobbler, applesauce, and of course lunch! They grow quite a few varieties but we picked mostly Gilbert Golden Delicious which have a very different flavor than the ones I've bought from the grocer.

Torrey said his Golden Delicious trees are from the 1920's (before growers tried to "improve" the apple for shipping). Torrey encourage us to visit again during persimmon picking season. I've never tried persimmons so maybe we'll go back again later this fall. We'll certainly be making apple picking a fall family tradition. Some fun facts that we learned is that apples can get sunburned which can give the flesh under the skin a "woody" flavor. Also, we learned that the proper way to pick an apple is by turning it until it falls from the tree so as not to remove any of the tree itself. Torrey said that would be like cutting off the tree's finger or toe- ouch!!! Gabriel Farm's website is http://gabrielfarm.com/

A Successful First Few Weeks!

We have had a great first few weeks of home schooling! Colton loves his Sonlight books- surprisingly the Uncle Wiggly Storybook is one of his favorites. He continues to amaze me each day with how much he is learning. Patrick and I are going to start doing Nature Study with the littles on Fridays. This past Friday we went to a nearby lake at sunsest and saw some beautiful birds and plants.
This picture is of Colton working on his Fall Leaf Collage.