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.)

Spectacular Birding Day at our House

This is our first year in our new home in the woods. So, we have been in for a few surprises as the seasons have approached and then left. We were pleasantly surprised this past week when, many different species of birds stopped by our yard in Florence, AL. We saw many different kinds of birds, including many, that we haven't seen in the yard before: the list for that Wednesday, November 12th included:

• Cedar Waxwing
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Carolina Wren
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• American Robin
• American Goldfinch

It was our first time to see most of those birds at this location- I was especially excited to see the Pileated Woodpecker at a closer range than I have before, and also the Cedar Waxwings- as a flock had stopped by to eat the Black Gum seeds.

Below is a slideshow of photos of the birds from that day.

The Kids Love this Sign

We pass by this Hardee's restaurant when we are going to Wednesday night meeting. We usually get stuck at the light at the intersection- so the kids get to look at it for awhile. Too long in fact as they usually start giggling and laughing because the sign says "Now Hiring Porkchop and Gravy Biscuit". (Click on the photo for a better view.)

A few weeks ago it had said, "Now Hiring Strawberry Biscuit". I guess they filled that position. :)

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.