Autumn with a chance of Winter

The week started off normal enough, walking the dogs, hiking in the woods (well Comet and I did have a near run in with a black bear but all's well that ends well) doing science experiments, learning about Mexico and some about Brazil, dissecting owl pellets, getting ready for Halloween and autumn in general. It was just a normal October week until the first snow arrived and then the second much larger snow! WE are certainly not ready for winter yet, hopefully it will melt and then the temperature will warm up again for a month or two.

Tristan keeps asking for more science experiments. I pulled out a few science kits that never got finished or just the older kids did them. Tristan had some fun making a telescope, and testing out his puppy's senses (well Comet kept wanting to be involved!). The  Tristan said isn't it about time we did some serious Chemistry!? So yes we'll work on that Tristan. He means crash,bang, make a mess and some explosions chemistry so I think we'll have to buy a kit.

Here are a few of the science experiments Tristan worked on this week:

Outdoors we see many signs of fall and winter to come. This wasp still refuses to leave it's nest (it was there last week too).

 Lots of leaves have fallen.

 Something is working hard on this tree below:

Midweek we went to see a presentation about Ulysses S. Grant with our homeschool group. How funny to learn that there isn't really an S that starts his middle name at all! We learned many fun facts.

 The dogs pose for Comet's 26 week photo as our first light snow of the season arrives.

 Comet is baffled by this cold, white stuff!

 We did some owl pellet dissecting as part of our week on rodents since we would most likely find rodent skeletons in the pellets. We have dissected many an owl pellet before, it's one of the kids favorite science investigations.

With winter barging in so fast and early we got the dogs these matching coats.

On Saturday we went to a farm one town over where they do a big pumpkin carving event each year. In addition to carving pumpkins we were able to watch squash and pumpkins flung with a trebuchet that the teen son build as a homeschool project. Colin and Tristan are thinking that they might like to do such a project too. We also saw quite a few oxen.

These below ended up all out of order but are mainly the mess that was the first big snow from Saturday-Sunday.

This photo is so funny, Comet pulled too hard on the slick snow and Tristan went right down and slid along. Since I could see Tristan was unhurt, well there was over a foot and a half of snow to cushion him!!!, I said wait don't help him, to his brother Colin, I want to get a photo of this!

 Hayley's Halloween decorations, her pumpkin and legos and some spider lights she has mainly because she likes spiders.

More snow pictures, Bonkers was unimpressed, being a little dog it's hard for her to walk in deep snow.

 CRAZY dogs chased after the soccer ball that had gone into the water!

So unexpected October snow, that's for sure. I'm typing this on Monday and the snow is still hanging around.