In the midst of a full week—the seventh since the autumnal equinox—we squeezed in another walk.
The colors were more muted this week; more branches were bare. Only small patches of brightness punctuated the overall brown of the landscape.
We’d not managed our time well, so we took a shorter walk than usual. Instead of going all the way to the creek, we went only as far as the meadow where we’d seen snakes twice before. We hoped the unseasonably warm weather had brought out a snake or two to sun itself, but no luck.
At the meadow, we did discover some berries we’d not noticed before.
My six-year-old speculated about whether they were edible or not, and I took a moment to double-check that he knew not to eat anything he found in the wild unless a knowledgeable adult was helping him identify the safe stuff. He’s not begun rolling his eyes yet, but he made it clear that this maternal concern deserved an eye-roll.
The forecast shows a tiny bit of a cooler weather, followed by another warm spell, with no rain in sight for next week. I miss the rain, but maybe this means we’ll see our snake friend on walk #6.