Autumn in the tundra

Well today started out with sun, but shortly after we woke up and started our day, it turned grey and dreary outside.After lunch we settled in to read a book. A is still fascinated by Ancient Egypt so we are taking our time and learning all we can. She picked up another book to read while I cleaned, and every so often I would get called in so she could tell me "Did you know most Egyptians didn't wear shoes?" and "They cooked on the roofs of their houses and in the summer they often slept on the roofs. I bet it was because it was so hot there." "MOM! Did you know many young Egyptian kids didn't even wear clothes! That's Kookified! That would be AWESOME!" I had to crack up at this one.
A and I had just resigned ourselves to the fact that the sun wasn't coming back out for the day, when suddenly, in a matter of mere minutes, the clouds broke, and the sky was clear blue for as far as the eye could see. Within seconds we were in rain pants, boots, and sweatshirts and headed out the door. On a glorious sun filled moment like this there was only one place to go..... Pyramid. Our favorite place to romp and explore.

5 mins later we were surrounded by tundra, berries, and the changing colors of fall.
(On another note...check out the pink hat. It's my very first attempt at crocheting in the round. Not bad if I do say so myself!)
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I mentioned Nagoon Berries on here before. They unfortunately are rare as they don't really grow in patches. I have heard from people who have lived on this island for 10 years and have only ever found one. Well, A definitely has the Berry Magic. She has found over a dozen in the last few weeks. I have to say, these things are delicious. Sweet, tangy...just perfect. A gets so excited when she finds one and has told dad many times that "They are the BEST berries in the world."After eating the many Nagoon Berries we found today, we set off to explore some more. We had brought along some tools from the microscope kit that we picked up at the community garage sale this weekend. We were on a mission to collect specimens.It has been really wet, so it is no surprise that these beauties were popping up all over the place.
A few of these even made it home with us in their little viles. They are being stored in the fridge as I type, and tomorrow we will be examining them under the magnifying glass and the microscope. I had to fight with A about doing this when we got home. I had to start dinner and then bath and bed, and I knew she would need more time dedicated to this. So tomorrow we will be observing and studying out fungi.

After a little more exploring we played. A was a fox, a tundra pup, an eagle, and a pilgrim, all in a matter of an hour. Then we she tired of the pretend play it was time to get some serious pent up energy out. The tundra is so soft and spoungy....so.....we bounced and bounced of course!
I Love this pic! Pure joy.
Then I held her and bounced, fell and rolled down the tundra, over and over. Squeals all around. The best day. I wouldn't trade my life right now for all the money in the world!
Looked over and saw a storm starting to move in over the distant mountains. The mist catching the light was beautiful. When I was young, my mother always said the sun rays beaming down like this was my Papaw smiling down from heaven. I still feel happy when I see this.

And a shot in the opposite direction. Blue Sky! Sigh. Haven't been seeing as much of this as I would like lately. But when we do it is Awe inspiring!
A decided to play hide and seek in the tundra.
Well, there's not many places to hide in the tundra is there? LOL. So she tried to blend in. I had to smile.I just love the autumn! I miss the leaves on the trees changing color. That is one thing I LOVED about Pennsylvania. It's the only place I have ever lived that fall was FALL! But the colors are changing here. The ground cover, the fireweed leaves, all turn to beautiful golds, rusts, scarlets.



It started misting as we headed back to the car. (Which was quite a bit away since we had wandered the tundra for over 3 hours.)And right before we reached the car, we found more mushrooms, growing right out of a fire pit. These of course come home with us as well in another specimen container, awaiting examination under the microscope tomorrow.
We made it back home just in time. Not 5 mins later, the bottom feel out and it began to pour!

What an awesome day. I hope you enjoyed the pics of fall on the tundra :) Thanks for sharing our day with us. What are fall days like where you live? Leave me a comment :)

Comments

Joyful Learner said…
What beautiful pictures! I wish we could join you in the hide and seek game. CA is still feeling like summer which is why I'm looking forward to going back home to see autumn in NY!
Amanda said…
Thank you! I grew up in Louisiana and we rarely had a fall. It often still felt like summer at Halloween. When are you going back to NY? Have fun!!
jmommymom said…
The tundra looks very different from the forests near us in Germany. It's interesting that you mentioned the plants change color with the seasons. - Thanks for Linking-up.
http://highhillhomeschool.blogspot.com/p/i-saw-it-on-vacation-blog-hop.html
What a truly amazing place you live.