She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. Proverbs 31

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Autumn, Glorious Autumn!

Today was one of those perfect days. The kind of simple day that wraps its arms around you and leaves a sweet memory in your heart.

Our Little House in the Big Woods.
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!

The forecast predicted a dark and rainy day, but I awoke to a warm morning with the sun reflecting off every shimmering leaf in the woods. It seems that overnight the forest was tranformed. Honestly, the beauty of God's creation just left me breathless!

Dear Cora, I thought of you and took these pictures especially so you could share in our autumn. We even picked some leaves just for you!

The boys' jeans hanging on the line


After I put on a big pot of white beans and hung out the laundry ~ Luke, Colton & I took our home learning outdoors, and had such fun. We took a nature walk, collected leaves, identified trees and gathered nuts. When we couldn't identify some of the nuts, we walked down the road to grandfather's house for some help. (And Colton walked the entire way with no wheelchair ... and no complaining which was quite a feat I can tell you!)

The road to grandparent's house.


Of course, grandfather knew right away what they all were ... and we were thrilled that they're all good for eating! A big THANK YOU to Sharon of Keeper of the Home where we discovered that the nuts laying all over the ground around here are hickory and black walnuts and are a great food source!

Colton and his Papa


Colton also got to visit his duck which was a gift from his grandmother. It had lost all of its yellow down and has turned into a soft grey and white duck. Colton chose to name him "Tinman". Of course, I thought it was the most clever name ever! LOL

Colton, Luke and Tinman


Then we visited the horses and gave them some delicious pecan leaves to munch on which made them very happy. They live in the field right outside the grandparent's home. One of the horses was a gift to Jeffrey from his mother, but we still don't have the needed fencing to bring him home yet. It will be so nice when we do. Can't wait to spoil him with a daily carrot!

Dakota


We had a front porch visit with Aunt Teresa and cousins Lily & Isabella. Luke and I shelled pecans for Colton & Lily who couldn't get enough! The pecans on their trees make ours look like tiny little things. Each half is as big as your entire thumb! Can't wait til ours grow up too.

Colton, Aunt Teresa & Cousin Lily


We gathered 5 large baskets of pecan and 2 types of hickory nuts. Colton said, "It's like manna from heaven!" And it was. Delicious food just waiting to be gathered.

Me, Colton & Luke with our pecans.


To gather the pecans, Luke climbed high into the tree and shook the branches. The pecans were good and dry, so they just rained from the trees. I laughed in amazement of it all! We couldn't wait for Jeffrey to get home from work to share our harvest with him.

Our manna!


And to end the day with a big bowl of white beans with bread & butter ... what could be sweeter?

Luke on the road home


Wishing you a blessed autumn,
Lea

33 comments:

Primitives By The Light of The Moon said...

Such a lovely day with your children. I loved picking up pecans with my Daddy and sisters. We had the same idea today. We also had beans but with cornbread. What a beautiful setting for a closeline. Wish my lines were hanging in such an awesome area.
:)Ginger

My Colonial Home said...

I enjoyed your story so much! The kids looked like they had a wonderful learning and loving day.

Oh what I would give to find some Hickory Nuts!!!! We grew up with them and now we just can't find them in the woods anywhere!

One of our childrens memories with their cousins when they were all so very small was going to a friends woods in the country (it's a golf course now1) and we spent the day there picking Hickory Nuts...ohhhhh so many!

I make a pure white layer cake with finly ground Hickory nuts in it and real fudge frosing, then it's covered with Hickory Nuts. YUMMMM....
Karen

Mary L. Briggs said...

What a fun day you had! It was so beautiful here today, too. I was glad to wake to sun instead of rain after all the wind we had during the night.

Thanks for sharing the wonderful pictures of your day!

R~Mary

tam said...

What a lovely day you all had! And a darn nice post as well-thank you I truely enjoyed it!You have a darling family! Pecans are my favorite!!!
I have something for you at my blog sooo come on over and get it! :)
~Tam

Chanda said...

Thanks so much for sharing a beautiful fall family day. You are so blessed.

Wanita said...

It sounds like you had a perfect autumn day, Lea.

Oh, my mouth is watering at the thought of white beans with bread and butter. Yummy!

Blessings,
Wanita

Caroline said...

What a lovely day you had. Gave me goosebumps just thinking of it.
Caroline

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for sharing your glorious day with us Lea! You have such a lovely home with gorgeous views of mother nature! You are truly blessed with such a wonderful family! I love reading your blog and look forward to your next post.
Many Blessings,
Shannon

Unknown said...

Now, that's my kind of school day, what a perfect way to spend a fall day! Your home is so cute!

KKJD1 said...

What a wonderful walk and visit with family. Tinman and Dakota are so cute and cousin Lily too cute didnt look to thrilled to be having her pic taken. Thank you so much for incuding us in on you wonderful day and you manna! Hope your Friday will be just as wonderful as your Thursday. Blessings, Karen

Trixi said...

I just found your blog and have really enjoyed my look around. You live in a beautiful place.

Debra said...

Oh Lea,
This was a wonderful post! I loved it! My fingers were just itchin' to pet Tinman. I have a special fondness for ducks, as my first beloved pet was a duck.
Thank you for a lovely visit here.
Love, Debra

~Tonya said...

Such a beautiful day and such wonderful pictures. Love them all. I enjoyed your story and looks like you all had such a great day.

Thank you for sharing. Tinman is so neat. Neat to watch then grow.

Have a Blessed day.
~Tonya

carolyn@simple~primitive~devotion said...

What a nice day! We had a simlar day yesterday too. And I tooks lots of pics. I enjoyed seeing your's. :)

My Dad has a hickory nut tree in the back yard where I grew up. The ground is covered with them! I don't like the taste of them, but I know some people do. The squirrels love them!

The beauty around us is so amazing. We are fianlly getting our fall color here.

Have a great weekend!

Unknown said...

What beautiful photographs. I adore Autumn, especially since I've lived in the US. The changing colours are so rich and vibrant, God is the most amazing artist. We have a black walnut tree here, unfortunately I don't care for them, but I enjoy watching the squirrels shed the outer shell and hide them in readiness for winter.

Brandy said...

I love this post! The pictures are beautiful and WOW... the nuts! My dd has been cracking some or ours... every so slowly. I may have to break down and have them shelled somewhere! HA!

Farrah said...

Great pictures!

Outdoor learning is the best!

Countryfolk Keepsakes said...

Oh my goodness! Your blog is such a wonderful and upliftin' place to visit! Such a pleasure! :> )
Thanks for stoppin' by mine too!
God bless, ~Karin

Anonymous said...

What gorgeous autumn pictures. The setting of your home is like a little piece of heaven!

Nancy M. said...

Sounds like a great day spent with family. How lucky you are to have them close by. Love the pictures! Our pecans didn't turn out this year.

Cat Nap Inn Primitives said...

what an awesome trip down your country lane..I love your cabin all tucked in the trees very warm and inviting..love the ducks name..we had a duck growing up his name was quokers...he pooped on me...lol...he did...love all the pecans you picked...I see pecan pie in the forecast to go along with those beans....yum...bet your home smells delightful....take care and thanks for stopping by for a visit...:)
Gina

Wendy/TheCozyYellowHouse said...

Lea thank you for sharing your beautiful Autumn day with us!! God is SO good!!! Be Blessed my friend!~Wendy

Wilma said...

Hi Lea

Dakota is beautiful. You know me and the horses. It won't be long before you have him home and spoiled. I love reading your blog. I was catching up on reading your stuff and when I came across the entry about Grandma Carter i felt like crying. You and I and your Mom are more like her than any of the rest of the family. I miss her too. Hope you have a blessed day
and holiday.
Love, Wilma

Nancy Jo said...

My that was a nice day and I was right there with you while I READ IT.
NANCY JO

StitchinByTheLake said...

What an absolutely wonderful post and a glorious day! I remember gathering hickory nuts when I was a little girl and how difficult they were to pick out. :) But oh they were good. blessings, marlene

Sharon said...

What beautiful colors and such a nice place to live! It looks like you all had a wonderful day of visiting and harvesting.

Tinman is so cute! I've never seen an ugly duckling before. Have you?! :D

I love Dakota's markings!

Thank you for your kind words. I'm just thankful I was helping someone with my nutty story and didn't even know it! :)

Julie said...

I love visiting your world, Lea. It truly makes me grateful for all that we have. Loved your post and the peaceful feeling I got while reading it. Hope your weekend if full of wonder. Julie

Janene said...

Lea~
Your cabin is so charming!
Those pecans are quite the find. And it looks the kids had a great day! That is something they will always remember and treasure. Gathering pecans in the Fall!
I love to read your posts. You have such a wonderful family.
Have a nice weekend~

~Janene~

*Linda Pinda* said...

Darling Lea...
Such great pictures!!! I love all of them, but one mom to another... You have GOT to frame that one of all the boys jeans drying on the line. That one is priceless and you already know that the day will come when you will miss all those jeans in your laundry basket. Keeping it hanging somewhere special will keep these sweet memories close to heart.

Love, Love, Love it!!!

Blessings & Hugs... *Linda*

flmom said...

Lovely, lovely photos! It looks like such a wonderful day!!!

Katy said...

Lea...i just loved all the pictures! Your home looks perfect nestled in amongst the beautiful fall trees! I love the pic of the jeans hung out!!! My FAVE way to dry clothes!!! And I love the pictures of your kids and family!
I noticed in the pecan pic...is that a bag you have? M.E. Fabric?? I love it!!! I wear my M.E. apron you made me often!!! I love to get the eggs and carry them in my apron. (then the apron gets to be washed...LOL)

Toby Parsons said...

What a wonderful life, treasured day, and lovely family.

Anonymous said...

Oh Lea, you are so lucky to have pecans to pick right off the tree. I just spent $8.00 on small bag of pecans for our homemade rolls for Thanksgiving.

Your homestead is beautiful.

Hope you all have the Greatest Thanksgiving yet.