As we stepped outdoors to begin our walk down the long gravel driveway, The sweet smell of newly fallen leaves scent our day.
The smell of apples falling along our walk makes the air even sweeter and we take a moment to notice the color dotting the ground.
.: Inspired by nature we felted wool to form acorns :.
In the forest surrounding us we hear acorns falling onto the leafy carpet below, composing a special syncopated music to score our day. We stop a minute to listen to the quick footsteps of chipmunks and squirrels who make themselves known by crunching leaves underfoot. We cannot help but stop once more to collect a few acorns and pinecones to add into our nature basket.
Naturally tye-dyed leaves are added into our baskets to later dry in our (flower press) as a reminder of this day. My daughter and youngest son drop to the ground spontaneously to make "leaf angels" in a pile of leaves, and roll down the hill gathering leaves in their hair and sweaters along the way!
The gravel driveway ends and we turn into the forest to begin our walk back home. The children run up ahead pointing out the many mushrooms lining the forest floor that are popping up everywhere! I can't help but take a few photos of these happy mushroom families!
.: A play-scape of mushrooms reflective of our walk in the woods :.
The earth is alive with color made manifest on this October day! The fall sky seems to be eternally a brighter shade of blue, the clouds seem even fluffier and everywhere we look it appears that we are stepping into a masterpiece painting. Brightly colored trees surround us and the Midas sun highlights everything it touches to gold! Nature is echoing herself in the bright orange tree in our yard, to the bright orange seaweed we found at the Ocean a few days earlier.
As if the day cannot get any more beautiful, as we turn to head home, my youngest son shouts out with excitement as he discovers the first rainbow of his life! We follow his tiny finger upwards to the sky behind us. A miraculous ribbon of color stretches from one end of the yard to the other.
.: A stone rainbow I created recently at the ocean :.
.: Almost a full rainbow of color found on this leaf :.
In retrospect I make the realization that my paths have been crossed by many other wonderful rainbows recently. Whether by leaf or stone or the momentous coalescence of light and tiny water droplets hanging in the sky, we are blessed by the timeless brushstrokes of nature and the awe and happiness they inspire within our hearts.
