Autumn In Idaho

Hiking The Butte

The first of October was warmer than usual at 80 degrees, so we took full advantage of the perfect day by taking the boys on a hike up a nearby butte, which happens to be a dormant volcano--really!

Trever wasn't too impressed with the hike itself when we first started out, but luckily he brought along his BB gun to keep him entertained.

Nathan stayed entertained by enjoying a "bird's eye" view of the sagebrush- and lava rock-covered scenery.

As we hiked further up, the hillside got steeper and steeper.

The steeper the hillside, the funner the hike for Trever!

That clump of lava rock up at the top had small cave carved into it, so....

we had to climb in and smile for a photo, of course!

After about an hour, we reached the top of the volcano, and took a look inside. Trever was disappointed to discover nothing but sagebrush and rocks. He was hoping for a big pool of churning lava!

But the view from the top was rewarding enough for the rest of us.
~
Fishing For Perch

Later, the same day, TJ's dad brought us to a local fishing pond and let the boys fish, catch-and-release style.

Grandpa helped Nathan get started.

And he was a pro in no-time! He caught 6 or 7 fish all on his own.

Trever considers himself a veteran fisherman and was ready to go, the minute he got there. I lost track of how many fish he caught!

The pond was packed with these pretty little fish, making it easy enough that even an amateur like me caught a couple on my own. I'll admit it was pretty darn fun.

After a while, Nathan became more interested in the worms than the fish. Yuck! He kept picking them up and saying, "Wook, Mom, he wikes me!"

I'm so glad we spent that unusually warm day outside, hiking and fishing. Most years, Idaho has already had it's first snowfall by now, so we decided to soak in as much sunshine as we could before it turns cold.

~

Gleaning The Fields

On another nice day, we all hopped in the back of my dad's old Ford pickup and drove down the farmers' fields to glean freshly harvested potatoes.

(We asked our neighboring farmer for permission, of course.)

My silly sister Candice is a favorite of my boys and their cousin Jaydon. She makes everything so fun! Even pickin' spuds!

After the farmers drive their tractors through the fields, collecting all the potatoes, there are still some left on the ground, but not enough for the farmers to drive through a second time, so they're always very permissive of allowing us to come glean the remains.

(I don't know if all farmers are so generous, but our neighbors sure are. Thanks!)

This was Trever and Nathan's first time to pick potatoes from the fields. They thought it was pretty cool.

We love our Idaho Spuds!
~

Walking Through the Woods

When the local news warned us that our warm days were coming to an end, I took one more opportunity to savor what was left and took the boys on a walk through the woods.

While I admired the beauty and peacefulness of nature,

our boys were busy collecting sticks.

They make me laugh so much! But I'm grateful that they share my love of nature and it's surroundings; and I love watching them discover the world in their own innocent and playful ways.

While I admired the riversides,

our boys admired a friendly little beetle.

But the best view of all, is to see our two smiling boys having fun together!

~

The weather has turned to it's usual colder temperatures since that last sunny day, and I'm so glad we went out to enjoy it. But the boys are still having fun outside, despite the cooler temps.