Exploring Creation

Aren't these simply beautiful?  I've never seen cactus quite like them...

Our desert home is alive with the colors of spring.  It is greener (for those in a more moist climate, it would probably still seem pretty muted), with lots of yellow and punctuated by some pinks, reds and the occasional purple.

It is the perfect time to explore the natural world around us!  My sister has just finished her first 'desert unit' with my 3 year old niece (more on that in a later post) and asked if we would be up for a visit to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  Our mom joined us for this lovely trip.

Getting out in nature provides so many learning opportunities.  The kids are inspecting an elaborate spider web here.

And enjoying the sight of an organ-pipe cactus... 

Breathing fresh air and an escape from the city was very much in order...

We are wrapping up a unit on gardening/plants/pollinators.  The boys were quite excited to find so many flowers and eagerly inspected the anatomy!

It was amazing to find a yucca in full bloom and marvel that there is only one moth that will sip the nectar and pollinate this beauty.  Examples like this just make me stand in awe at the intricacies of this world God created.

These beautiful flowers had an intoxicating scent to match their eye-appeal. 

I find the outdoors to be so relaxing and the kids had a similar reaction.  I couldn't help but think of Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder as I watched my kids stop and explore this beautiful glen near the creek. 

I found myself counting, counting, counting the many gifts that He's given us through his Creation!

Varieties of flowers.  Each one unique and beautiful.

Boys applying what they've learned about flowers and pollinators.

A niece reveling in her new understanding of our desert home and getting to see so much of its beauty.

Time to explore with my boys, mom, sister and her kids!

Cousins that adore each other.

Discovering a fuzzy bright red caterpillar!

Exploring the ribs of a giant saguaro.

Boys that love this time of year as much as I do.

Lunch at this quaint cafe.

Hearing my mom recollect life in Arizona small mining towns.
Laughter over a shared meal.

Old buildings that make me wonder about its glory days...

Weather that cooled down.  A welcome break from our April 1st 100+ degrees.

The prospect of another week in the dry, balmy 80's.  I sense a lot of nature walking in our immediate future!

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