A New Favorite Nature Spot

Oh, thank you, Blogger! You removed me from your list of possible spam blogs so I don't have to painfully discern and type in not one, but two verification codes. Since there appears to be a bug in your verification code so that it always marks the first attempt as as an error.

Today we went to the lake and Clare, Kieron, Aidan and Patrick swam around for a couple of hours. It was beautifully cloudy today and at the very end of our lake visit, it started to rain and we got to experience a sandstorm.

MacBeth Derham writes on her page about nature study:

Mount Holyoke College has a lovely tradition: On a crisp October morning at 7am, the morning bells continue to ring past 7, signaling that classes are cancelled. Because many students choose to climb the local mountains on their day off, the day is called “Mountain Day.” I have carried this tradition home, though we try to have our “Mountain Day” once a month, as a special addition to our usual time spent out of doors. Our “mountain” is a local preserve with several different environments—fields, forests, pond, seashore, and even old ruins. Best of all, it is free!

Mountain day is not a substitute for getting out daily! The mountain day location is a special place, away from home, where we can observe the seasonal changes, wild life, plants, and weather. Mountain day is a treat, wildly anticipated by the whole family. Nevertheless, we still go out as much as possible, on a daily basis.

Here's another site celebrating seasonal nature study.

We love returning to the same natural spot many times through the year to watch the seasonal changes as they come.

We have several "mountains" in our lives -- favorite places we return to again and again to see -- more than see, experience and live in -- the changes. The lake is becoming our new favorite. Its temperamental activity today really endeared it to the kids.