and another neat thing from today's walk...

was the little bitty tracks someone spotted at the lakeshore. Raccoons and mice, the kids guessed?!

One small square

We set out to do the small square, but realized that there wasn't much activity on the floor of the woods this late November day! We did notice that there are still a number of different things to be found in just a little area, even without the insects. We did see some more beaver work and, like always, enjoyed the fresh, crisp air of late fall in MN!

Wow, what a topple!

It was a beautiful scene where the beavers had been at work!

We appreciated the bit of color in the dullness!

Checking our location...

Always need to plan for little one tuckering out.

The ongoing collections.....

The kids collected a bit of nature for our table again since

it was dry this week. We are past the 'collections challenge' but everything

was wet that week. We usually end up on some sort of bunny trail

anyways. Collections never cease to accumulate in our house though.

A few more pics from this week...

Older kids were sneaking around and running circles in the woods. I guess they had been using signs when they got out of hearing range of one another. (We have been studying frontiersmen.)

Levi was hiding around every corner he came to.

"He ain't heavy, he's my brother..."

Nick trooped up & down many hills, but tuckered out a couple times. He kept telling me he's going to run up and run down the hill. He learned about tree roots hidden under the leaves!

And look who fell asleep by the time we got out! Here he was waking up as I set him down. (Just getting over the chicken pox.)

Did we see some neat things on our walk this week?!

The cattails are going through some changes.

Something has been busy here....

"I can see teeth marks!"

"Hey, they have been working all along the shore."

The only thing cooler than seeing all these signs of the beavers would be to see them in action!

Big changes in October!

The woods has taken on a whole different hue! By Oct. 26, virtually all is golden!

Must be a slow-growing tree! Look at the number of rings in such a small trunk!

The mighty oak... nothing quite like it. Even with the leaves disappearing, the branches alone make such an awesome picture!

The farmers around here lost some precious harvest time with the fall rains!

Hopefully they can get it all out before the snow flies!

Changing of the maples...

We've been watching how the maples are changing color from top to bottom. Then on October 12, quite premature, the leaves had to hold some white stuff for a few hours before it melted away. We are not supposed to get that stuff until the leaves are long gone... I'll have to admit that the snow was gorgeous as it came down all fluffy, but it would have been much more appreciated if it were December 12! I just would rather not be rushed into the frigidness that comes with MN winters! (The kids got the morning off to enjoy the snow as I knew it would be gone by afternoon. They hauled out the hats, boots, snowpants, and sleds and were in their glories!)

A few notebook samples...

Up close, we found many awes of the woods...

1) Woodpeckers' work

2) tree stump turned mushroom haven

3) debarked tree branch with trails... Were these trails made by some creature underneath the bark before the bark fell off?

4) Seeds took root and there are a few tiny evergreens thriving in a little area of the woods.

5) And last, it was time to call it a good walk & head for home when the young one started taking little breaks along the trail.

As we checked out the cattails...

...the girls were trying to get a little height to show off their finds by climbing onto a log. After the photo was taken, Tara experienced what happens when you combine mud boots with wet logs! Poor thing went SPLAT, right onto her back! Thank goodness she wasn't hurt a bit. These other weed things growing in a lower area of the woods right up to the lake had us wondering... They look ramrod straight from a distance. Close up, they look like some sort of cane plant. We had never noticed plants like this before. Know what they are?

Misty walk

What a neat experience it was to do our walk on a misty day! Of course, we hadn't much choice if we were to get a nature walk in that week as we've had plenty of rain this fall. It wasn't a great day for collections, but the bag was accumulating a few things anyway. In the center of the picture with the boots is a squiggly worm, which was the focus for the moment.

Along with the Outdoor Hour Challenges, we checked out the cattails as we walked through a local park. We look forward to observing these throughout the seasons as we enjoy nature.