Winter's Light

I wanted to share this photo of the boys from a few days back. We had a nice outside play time one afternoon (or was it morning?) and the boys just happened to be in the same place at the same time. So I took the opportunity to shoot some photos of them all together. This one is my favorite, although there were many other nice ones too.

This morning when I woke up and looked out the kitchen window I noticed the change in the light. We had been having many days of "Indian Summer"...where the light is bright as a Summer day and the temperature warm. On these days the animals take the opportunity to store up more food and sunshine for the long winter that is just around the corner. We have been following the same idea, and spending as much time outside as we can.

So I was surprised to see this out the window this morning.....

The light is still bright, but now cold and blue....like Winter. It's a beautiful light, really. The darks of the landscape become darker...more still. The air seems fresh. The light is clear. It makes my thoughts seem more audible, and it calms me somehow. Yet, in the same breath, I know it means that Winter is coming soon. Sooner than I'd like anyhow. I love Winter. I love the snow and even the cold in a way is nice. But I just love Autumn so much more, and I wish it would linger a little longer than it does.

We played in the leaves this afternoon, after a morning of learning times at the big table. The leaves are dry and crunchy. We had fun raking them and crunching them with our boots.

The boys built a fort, with two rooms. "A room for a fire and for eating and an armory..." Oh, of course, what else would a boy need? Heh.
The boys' treasured weapons. The blue shield and sword (next to it) Cricket has painted. Aren't they nice?And here is a great shot of my pumpkins. I'll let you decide if I mean the pumpkins or the boys. :)