First Snow of Fall 2008

The following photos are from December 1st, 2008 and our first snow fall at our new house in Florence, AL. (The house isn't new- but it is new to us.) The kids loved the snowfall (as did Jenise and I). The flakes were huge and wet- and even though the temp was closer to 40 degrees, the snow "stuck" for a few minutes as it was coming down so fast.

One comment about the photos- there is nothing like the first snow of the season to bring out the broad smiles and unmitigated joy in the faces of children. (And ahem, the parents, ahem.)

Junior Explorers

It is still warm enough to go creek walking. . . my junior explorers don't seem to mind the cooler weather. :)

Going to the Creek

The kids and I have enjoyed spending time exploring Cypress Creek the past few weeks. The creek is only about 1/4 mile from our house. We have also kayaked and floated down it on inner tubes a few times.

Creeks are a great place for kids to explore nature. There are all manner of fish (see many of them at my nature web site http://www.natureatcloserange.com/), snakes, frogs, insects, spiders, plants, etc. To help with the catching of the smaller minnows, darters, and shad- we use a cast net. We have found several fascinating fish- like the Warpaint Shiner, Banded Sculpin, Redlined Darter, and the Northern Studfish, and Long-eared Sunfish, just to name a few.