Farewell to Summer

Charlie is growing fearless when it comes to slides. Big and twisty? Bring it on. However, no matter what he is doing at the park, he will observe a moment of silence as the little red train goes by.

We are bidding a fond farewell to summer and an excited "hello" to fall. It is that brief but fabulous time of year when most days are no longer a sauna but aren't cold either. In celebration, we have been making the most of it at the parks and arboretum lately.

Charlie was tickled pink to be sitting on this marble ball.

We are blessed with some great parks nearby, but my favorite place lately to go with the boys is the NC State Arboretum. It is huge (after four visits we have yet to see it all), has variety, and is lovely and peaceful.

Watching Charlie run freely into the distance does my heart good. Don't read too much into that. I just like knowing that he isn't cooped up in a little apartment all the time.

Charlie and Jack still need a lot of supervision on big toys so normal parks are difficult with two of them and one of me. They love exploring the arboretum though and so do I.

Incredibly large and green spider, passion flower, big frog. This spider (a Green Lynx Spider) was a thing of beauty. It was like green glass in the sunlight. I had the oddest feeling of wanting to touch it. I can promise you that that has never before happened to me while looking at a spider.

I love seeing the varieties of plants from around the world and seeing the little critters that visit them.

There are a lot of butterflies out lately and it is fun to watch them surprise the boys when they suddenly fly out of the bushes the boys were approaching.

 The monarchs on these orange flowers were so stunning I could have watched them for hours.

A rainy morning at the lake.

I have a hard time picking a favorite season. Mostly I love experiencing them all and the progression as one becomes the next. The steady routines we have grown accustomed to (animals and humans alike) over the summer are now morphing with the seasons. I think it is Mother Earth's way of reminding us that change is good.