Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween!

The View From the Blue Ridge Parkway

Saturday we took a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway. I wanted to see the fall colors and the boys have never been up that way before.

The leaves are nearing peak and are absolutely gorgeous. And the mountains are amazing- as always. 

 We stopped every now and then to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful weather.

 And stopped at the Mt. Pisgah picnic area for lunch. I haven't been up in that area since I was a kid. You can see Mt. Pisgah from our road, and one day we hope to take the kids to hike up to it.

 We continued south on the parkway until gas started to get low and Annika started to get grumpy.

 

 

 We made one last stop- as requested by the boys. We hung out here for awhile- letting the boys laugh and joke about the name on the sign. And letting Annika get some energy out.

Then we headed home. This picture is overlooking Hominy Valley. Somewhere in the middle of those peaks is our home. I could look at the leaves and the mountains forever- it's good for the soul.

Luckily I can sit and look the mountains and colors anytime I want because this is the view from the south side of our house- Little Pisgah Mountain and the view from the front and north side are just a beautiful. 

Field Trip Friday: The NC Arboretum

I feel a little odd posting about our recent trip to the NC Arboretum when I have no pictures of plants to share...there was still a lot in bloom and lots of ornamentals, but my favorite parts of this trip were the 2 traveling exhibits that were going on. The Blue Ridge Fiber Show and After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals and Ice.

First we stopped at the Education center where there was a Bonsai Expo was going on and the Blue Ridge Fiber Show upstairs. The kids weren't terribly interested in this- other than their amazement at the cost of some of these pieces. I thought they were beautiful- and can't wait till Spring when we shear the alpacas and I can start to learn how to felt and use fiber myself.

Then we went down to look at the Bonsai. Annika got a little bored, so we left Paul, my mom and the boys inside and went out to explore the gardens and fountains.

The other traveling exhibit is After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals and Ice. Now this was something the kids loved! My boys absolutely love to watch documentaries on this type of thing. They have watched them on all sorts of dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles and mammals. So seeing the skeletons and such of all of these animals was so much fun for them.

They had replicas of skulls, claws and teeth. They had huge electronic replicas of the animals themselves. It was pretty cool. Lakin was drawn to the Smilodon and other sabertooth cats. They had a huge ground sloth and short-faced bear- both of which they had seen videos on.

They had a little rice-filled pit to uncover bones in. Annika played here most of the time the boys were running around looking at the animals.

They had a couple of animals they didn't know much about- like the dire wolf and giant beaver. I am sure we will be searching for them soon in books and movies.

So that was our trip to the NC Arborteum this week. It's a lovely place with amazing gardens, exhibits and trails. If you want to see some more you can read my post about our previous trip to the Arboretum.

Do you have a field trip to share this week? You can link up any posts about getting out of the house and exploring life and learning first hand. Please link back here to help this blog hop grow!

Goings On

Cohen- tracing sharks, drawing whales and all other things fish

 Annika with her playdough. All the time.

Rylan mowing. I am wondering when mowing will cease to be fun and something to fight over and become a chore....

Annika in her house. The boys made her a castle out of weeds....she loves it.

Cale's dinosaurs made out of clay. T-rex, Triceratops and Stegosaurus

My mom visited. Rylan made her a cake for her birthday. Black Tie Mousse Cake.

We went to the Arboretum....they have a fiber works show right now. It made me wish it was shearing season. Now.

There was also an exhibit on prehistoric mammals. They got to see all the animals they have watched documentaries about for years.

Annika's mess. 

We hatched chicks. 3 Turkens. 2 Americanas. and 3 Top Hat mixes, with out hats so far. We did not hatch out any peachicks though. That egg was a dud.

The goat switch. June in now rooming in with Scooter and Scout and Thor is happily down in the girl's yard, stinking up the place. And so starts breeding season.

Harvesting sweet potatoes.

What's going on in your world?

Field Trip Friday: Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education

I've been sick this week- as in possible pneumonia, hacking dry cough so much that my ribs ache and I can't sleep. So I sort of forgot about my Friday post. We didn't go anywhere this week, but I am sharing our side trip to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education from the day we went to the Cradle of Forestry.

Behind the center is a trout hatchery, which the kids loved. Annika- and the boys- enjoyed feeding the fish and watching them splash all around.

They also have some trails and exhibits outside and an indoor movie and some aquariums of local wildlife inside.

Annika was pretty tired by the time we got here, so we didn't get to fully experience it, but we do plan to do back. They also offer free classes to kids and adults on topics like fishing and various wildlife.

Do you have a field trip to share this week? Please link up below!