sparkly autumn day

:: :: :: ::

One day last week we went letterboxing, which we've been wanting to do for a very long time.  There is so much that appeals to me about this activity, wherein a seeker follows a set of directions that lead to a hidden box containing a rubber stamp and a log, with which to exchange a stamp "signature" with your own log and stamp, returning it all to its hidden spot without being seen.  There is the hidden treasure aspect, which was SO THRILLING especially as this particular spot was located on a very busy part of the bike path.  There is the beauty of the individual stamps; the one we found was store-bought, but the one we used (which I haven't taken a photo of) was one I made last year from an eraser, and I know many of them are hand-made.  There is the "secret club" feel to the whole endeavor, and of course as soon as Eliza returned the box to its spot, covered in sticks and leaves, with Ani on the look-out for passersby, we all breathed a sigh of relief that we hadn't been spotted and then..."Let's do another one!"  I think we might have to find another this week...

The day was particularly lovely, and we continued down the path to our garden plot.  Along the way we talked about a book we've been reading, called Red Sings from Treetops, which is a lyrical journey through the year in colors.  I asked the girls to each choose a color they were drawn to on our walk and then write a few thoughts beginning with that color.   

Orange sniffs at white
Orange chases white
Orange leaps on white -----  Ani's thoughts about a fox-like dog we saw and some good imagining...I told her it reminded me of the orange sycamore leaves on the white white branches.

Brown. Shuffle of brown beaded moccasins
The wind rustles the brown wheat
Brown crunch of leaves under my feet
Brown tickle of wooly bear in my heand
Brown in my hair as it blows in the wind----Eliza

When we arrived at the garden, we set up at the picnic table and they worked on illustrations for their words while I checked in on the garden.  I can't believe how much hum and color there still is - the nasturtium are in their absolute glory, the bees are still working hard, the grasshoppers are making hay while the sun still shines, or something along those lines, and we're still getting cherry tomatoes by the handsful! Beautiful.