Whew, it's been awhile...

It's been way too long since I wrote my last blog. Life at our house has been really crazy with a puppy (do I dare say that I think she's finally housebroken?), soccer four days a week and getting back to doing "real" schoolwork.

While I want to post photos of some of what we've been up to the last couple months, today I need to post something a little bit different, because it was a very dangerous day for driving around here today. This was not due to rain or snow or ice or any of the usual hazards; it was due to the weak-in-the-knees-stunning colors that autumn was showing off today...it was impossible to keep your eyes on the road!

Discoveries in Unexpected Places

We had several days where we had to stick close to home, but I've been amazed at what kinds of interesting things we were able to find just in our yard. It's truly a matter of simply taking the time to look!

In my garden/weed patch/maze, the deer and bugs have done their work! The sunflowers surrounding what I had hoped would be a sunflower "house" for the kids are being eaten like crazy. Some kind of bug is eating the leaves from the centers outward. The deer are just clipping the tops right off! Speaking of which, this one has been sticking REALLY close to our house for the last 4-6 weeks...I think she might have a fawn hidden nearby. Anyway, I really can't object to sharing my lame attempt at gardening with HER, can I? Isn't she beautiful?

Back to my garden/weed patch. I had planted butterfly weed, hoping to attract butterflies...here is what sprouted up right in the middle of all the butterfly weed:
Yes, that is white Foxglove. VERY toxic, not what I had planned on in a "children's" garden, but it's pretty, isn't it?

We found this big spider web when the sunlight was hitting it just so:

Letting my garden (weed patch) grow all wild and brambly has brought us other visitors, too...here is a red-spotted newt, or red eft, who was just sitting there, looking at me, while I was trying to fight back nature and pull some of the weeds growing around my sad-looking sunflowers.

He's gorgeous, isn't he? I'm letting the boys keep this one. We've put together a habitat for him with dirt and moss from the yard, a little hiding place made of a piece of wood, and a little water dish. I dug up enough dirt to be sure there are plenty of worms in there for him to eat, and the boys and I even bought some little crickets to feed him.


If anyone has tips to share on caring for a red eft, please share them with me!

Lastly, Sara, this one is posted just for you! I spotted it in my front flower garden:

I'm still on the lookout for the red ones with white polka-dots...we had them last year!

Dragons and more...

Knights and dragons have been VERY popular around our house lately. Here is one of Aidan's latest dragon creations. Note the unicorn standing next to the tree!

Thinking about fairy tales, I took this picture in a yard near my house. I could never paint it, because people would look at it and say, "It's too pretty. It looks fake." I was struck by the pink above and the blue below.

One of our butterflies hatched. We released it the next day because Colin couldn't keep himself from holding it, and we were afraid it would die. Sadly, the other chrysalis did not survive.
Sadie the spy dog...the most patient dog in the world!

Odds and Ends

What do you do with an area of your yard you HATE to mow? The grass in this area is so thick and weedy that it's nearly impossible to mow. I don't like the idea of using weed killer (we're all on wells out here), so I decided to try my hand at a children's garden. Colin really wanted a "maze" going through it. I'm planting a bit at a time, as time allows. We have big plans, though, including a sunflower house, gourds, and flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I'm not much of a gardener, so it's a real experiment for us. We may discover that we are just planting deer food, but I don't hate the idea of seeing the deer more often!

Here is the beginning of it:

Here's Colin at the playground where our homeschool group meets:

One of the salamanders we caught recently (all have been released):

A single tulip that makes it's appearance every spring since we moved in. The people we bought the house from say they never saw it, and never planted it. I guess it just likes us!

Daffodils in the sun:

Life in Bloom

We've had some fabulous weather the last few days, and everything is really starting to come to life around here. We have spent very little time indoors, but here are some of the signs of life we're finding outside.

(Colin thought all the purple flowers growing in Calista's yard were SO beautiful!)

Caterpillars, Lost Teeth, and Art Fairs

Here are our newest "pets" that we got as part of our current science project. They are busy forming chrysalides, and will grow into painted lady butterflies! All that brown stuff in the bottom of the containers is some sort of special caterpillar food. As soon as each has formed its chrysalis, it will be moved into our butterfly house.

Chrysalis developing:

Also, Aidan lost another tooth! I didn't even know this one was loose until minutes before it fell out! His top two teeth have been loose for a couple months, but this one wanted to come out first, I guess!

I FINALLY received my letter from our local art fair, and these are the three paintings that got juried into the exhibition this year. All are pastel.

Garden of the Gods

The boys and I drove to Colorado Springs today to pick Fred up from his meeting. We decided to stop at Garden of the Gods on the way back and see what that was like. We were NOT disappointed! Breathtaking views were everywhere, as were interesting rock formations.

Here are Fred and the boys on what looked like a natural staircase.

Some very cool rock formations:

The boys thought it was cool to sit under this gigantic rock.

More flowers and bugs...my favorite!

Colin seemed to have trouble believing we were actually letting him HOLD Brayden!

Aidan, Brayden and Joe

My darling nephew

Colin having one of his many timeouts that he's had this week. He's been testing us ALL WEEK, I guess to see if he can get away with stuff on vacation that he can't get away with at home. I won't go into details about all of that...we want to remember the fun stuff!

Tomorrow's big plans are to visit Dinosaur Ridge, where there are fossilized footprints along a walking trail, and also the Morrison Natural History Museum, which is geared toward children with tons of hands-on exhibits, and whose focus is dinosaurs, reptiles and the Ice Age. It should be the best day of Aidan's life so far!