A Taste of Spring!

Yesterday God gave us a little taste of spring. Our temperature was close to seventy degrees and sunny. It was the kind of day that we look forward to here in the south during the winter months...a short reprieve from cold, dreary weather. It was the perfect day for a woodland walk. We are very fortunate to live near the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge. It was established in 1963 and has 8,443 acres of fields, wetlands, and woodlands that provide protected habitats for many different types of wildlife. We spent our beautiful Sunday afternoon exploring some of the trails at the refuge. Even though the landscape is still a little bleak, there is so much beauty to be seen this time of year.



The refuge has many creeks and ponds to provide habitats for fish and waterfowl.




I don't think this little fellow belonged here in the wild. I sure hope his owner was close by.



I just love walking down the trails surrounded by the tall trees.



If you walk quietly, you'll notice that you are not alone in the woods.



This little woodpecker didn't even seem to notice me.



This covered bridge is kind of neat, don't you think?



I think someone wasn't paying much attention to his fishing.



My goodness, I hope these didn't belong to the same fisherman.



Years ago, the Gaddys' pond was the winter home of many geese. Now, we are lucky to get fifty geese.



We were not allowed beyond a certain point on the trail. I wonder where this leads?



Isn't the bottom of this tree interesting? I love how God provides shelter for all of His creatures.



The Carolina blue sky promises more days like this one.



I wish I could have gotten pictures of all of the different birds in the fields. They seemed to hear us before I could get close enough. Next time I'll have to take a chair and just sit quietly for a while.

Oh well, it was back to reality today. It temperature stayed in the low forties and the clouds overpowered the sun. Hopefully, we will have another taste of spring soon and these dreary days will become few and far between.

Some Lessons are Not Taught in a Classroom

Monday afternoon the weather was perfect. The sun was shining brightly and a gentle breeze was blowing. After we finished up our lessons for the day we decided to visit my dad for a little while. He and my mom have lived in the same house for over forty years. He is retired now and loves working outside with his chickens, cows, and garden.

Today we decided to take a walk with him to the creek on his property. This is one of the many advantages of homeschooling. There are just some lessons that cannot be taught in a classroom.



Lesson 1- Spending time with the people you love is always more important than any thing else!



Lesson 2- If you look close enough, you can see evidence of other creatures that share your space.



Lesson 3- Skipping rocks on a creek is a wonderful way to pass the time of day.



Lesson 4- The gentle sound of water running over rocks calms the soul.



Lesson 5- The beauty of the earth can be found all around, even in the smallest detail.

Hope everyone has a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!