I love fall. In fact, it’s probably my favorite time of the year. The crisp, cool weather is perfect for spending time outdoors. Combine that with the fact that we celebrate a few special birthdays and holidays and you can probably figure out why this time of year feels extra special around here.
Before the season actually starts to take form in our neck of the woods, I thought I’d share my fall outdoor adventures bucket list. Here goes:
BACKYARD FUN
- Collect natural items to decorate inside & outside the house
- Hunt for spider webs (maybe even preserve one)
- Plant more native flowers in our garden to help attract birds
- Start a rock collection
- Take a walk in the rain
- Paint with mud
- Float nature-made “boats” in puddles
- Run through a pile of leaves
- Learn more about our backyard birds, especially the crows
NEARBY NATURE
- Spend time every week in the school garden (and plant something there, too!)
- Walk home from school as many days a week as possible
- Visit a pumpkin patch
- Take a hike somewhere we haven’t been before
- Navigate a corn maze
- Continue our family nature club outings once a month (and hopefully grow our group!)
GRANDER ADVENTURES
- See the fall colors in Yosemite
- Go apple picking
Of course, the big explorer has some ideas of his own, which I will do my best to see realized:
- Make pumpkin & apple pies
- Bob for apples
- Go fishing (a leftover from our summer 2010 bucket list)
- Visit Yosemite when it’s cold out (we usually only go during summer)
How about you – what’s on your fall outdoor fun wish list? I’d love to hear what you’ve got planned!
@Crystal: Your nature basket sounds wonderful! What a great way for Shane to enjoy his treasures indoors.
There's so many wonderful activities on this Bucket List…I don't even know what to comment on first!<br /><br />We've been collecting items from nature over the past few weeks. I've been wanting to set up a small nature table for Shane. Right now it's a shallow wicker basket on a chest in our living room. We've got a few gourds, a miniature pumpkin, acorns and pine
@Colleen: Definitely! If you haven' already, get a bird feeder for your backyard & watch to see who comes.
Wow, Debi. You always remind me of so many ways for my family to connect more with nature. I love the simplicity of this bucket list. Sometimes our biggest adventures are in our own backyard or in the neighborhood park!
@Mike: Can't wait to see what your explorer come up with!
What a great idea! You've inspired me, I can't wait to sit down with our exporers and build a bucket list!
@Mel: I'm looking forward to seeing your fall bucket list! 🙂
Ok, now you know I am going to have to make a fall bucket list…I better go check my summer list to see if we did everything.<br /><br />I love cross country skiing in Yosemite and seeing frozen waterfalls. Wish I could put that on my list. We'll have to make due with Yellowstone;) (Guess that's winter anyway. Fall is quite short around here.)
@Roy: Winter is Yosemite's best kept secret. Simply stunning.<br /><br />@Anna: Yummy apple pie …<br /><br />@Mara: Hawks are just plain cool – a guided birding watch sounds fun!<br /><br />@Melody: LOVE your "list" – thanks for sharing!
Hmmmm, I don't know if I would call it a 'bucket list' because its one I definitely want to repeat every year, but our familiy's includes apple picking in the mountains, fall camping trips to new places, rolling through leaf piles, horseback riding, longer hikes and bike rides than we can do in sweaty summer, acorn collecting for the forest service, 'haunted' hikes, lots
I would like to get out on our bikes before it gets cold – we haven't done that too much since the summer. Also thinking about buying a birding book and participating in one of the hawk watches our local nature society sponsors at this time of year.
What a great autumnal bucket list! Must bake apple pie…
We want to go to Yosemite again, this winter, too! For whatever reason, we did not go last year and it is a real shame, because Yosemite is so awesome in the winter. Oh, and I still love to go sledding 🙂