We had our Friday Nature Time on the “we really want to do that” priority list this fall. It just wasn’t getting done. Now, it has been moved up to the “even if it is the only thing we do” schedule. We were all geared up for Friday’s post at the Handbook of Nature Study – ready to go explore. This week’s challenge is a Winter Color Walk : Walk around your yard and try to see how many colors are in your world. If the weather forbids it, then cozy up to your window and see how many you can find.
My 7th grader immediately gets excited, and says, “I can do that right now! And check my Chickens!”. “After your math questions, simmer down,” answers mama. We work on our chores and then I drive my 10th grader to work mid morning. We chat about the challenge on the way to the pool. He says, “Well that should be easy – a whole lotta Yellow, Brown and Green.” He hasn’t been my yard and forest walker lately, mostly the beach. As I pulled out of the driveway, I spot my younger son in a hoodie with a clipboard and paper dashing around the yard.
When I get back I ask him, “What did you find?” He pulls out his notebook and exclaims – “Whoa! I don’t remember finding that many! Oh, sorry, that was my spelling list.” Ha. I asked what colors he found, and his response was, “Every color of green that there is.”
His written color list:
Blue, White, Black,
Brown, Grey, Green, Pink, Yellow,
Silver, Red, Orange, and Lots of Green.
We are experiencing our first official Winter Storm. As I type we do not have power and the white caps on the muddy churned up lake are beautiful. With now electronic devices, outside of my typing, I can hear the 45 mph winds and 70+ mph gusts ripping through the 3.5 miles of water like a freight train. The Sitka Spruce, so tall with branches the size of trees makes a beautiful shaking sound in the front yard. So many evergreens, their leaves create their own front yard percussion band. The wind whips down through the chimney. Now rain softly bounces off of our huge windows facing the lake. The sky is grey, a dome with high visibility, no defined individual clouds, just a high grey and white dome. The ivy climbing the Red Alders and the Hemlock, Douglas Firs and Sitka Spruce line the banks of the lake. Our little dock gets a beating from the waves. I can smell my Caribbean Mango candle that has been burning in the living room this morning, and the stale smell of movie popcorn from the boys watching of Lone Soldier last evening. I am excited that I charged my Kindle, and have a few books on hand to read, along with my Beth Moore James:
Mercy Triumphs study. Here are a few photos from my walk around this morning:
The inflatable Kayak prompted my walk about – this had been stored under the deck below the house last evening. Now up in the front yard along the fence.
I love the birds in the winter. We still have some lone die hards in the water, bobbing along, up and down in the waves. Here are my 4 hens, just looking at the lake, they have a literal birds eye view. Ha. They could be in their little house, but no, looking straight on.
+Angie Wright
Pebblekeeper 
I’ve done winter color walks with paint chips, too. It was neat to hear the older kids using the “technical terms” and we talked about why they had those names. Fun winter color walk.
Just as I expected, you and your boys have found some great winter color. Thank you so much for sharing your Oregon color walk with the OHC Blog Carnival.
Love your blog, and pictures from the PNW! My sister lives in Portland, and I love checking in with what’s going on in your beautiful state!