Friday 18 October 2013

These Autumn Days


The leaves that were only a vibrant Green a few short weeks ago, have mellowed and crisped taking on their golden coluring for Autumn. Slowly the golden leaves have relinquished their hold on the tree and floated down to the woodland below. 

Autumn has rolled around again.

Leo loves any excuse to get out and about, and now he is at the perfect age to do just that. I walked him down to the local nature reserve today, a place I used to play as a child. I would be running around there in my welly's rain or shine, and as the reserve backs on to my parents house, I was given the freedom that any young child desires.


My time was spent building dens up high in trees, or among the clearing of a bush and even now those memories are clear in my mind. Once upon a time I was a ample tree climber, a tom boy through and through. On occasion I had to be hosed down with a hose pipe in the middle of winter due to falling in a few mud baths on my adventures... I re-call a less than impressed Mother not letting me come back into the house until every shred of mud had been washed away.

Suffice to say it was a little cold...

With Leo proudly sporting his wellington boots we opened up the garden gate and peered into the now overgrown nature reserve. The paths I had once walked were grown over with relentless nettles and the entire space I had once known like the back of my hand looked like a completely different world. Leo walked around triumphantly, and gladly let me pick him up and run down that rather steep hill that I had once done with ease. Today I was a little skeptical as to whether it was a good idea or not, but luckily even in wedge boots I managed to pull it off.


Leo saw no fear at all and giggled the whole way down, the bumpier the better.

Leo proudly held my hand as we walked around the nature reserve, and smiled as he found that Autumn had not yet diminished all of the Blackberries. Stealthily Leo took ample supplies from the Blackberry bush, and streaked the berries around his lips leaving that dark mustache as a tell tale sign that he had been munching them. His main mission after this was to hunt down the remaining Blackberries that were hanging around the place.

Although the old pond where I used to catch Newts and Tadpoles has long since dried up and grown over, some of the trees I used to climb have got old and blown over in the wind, there are still some land marks of my childhood around the place. A tree I occasionally used to climb is still standing tall, and as I showed my curious 2 year old, he seemed incredibly excited to have a climb for himself. He tried his darnedest but admittedly did take a few tumbles, but he got into the crook he had aimed for eventually. 

A very triumphant moment for him and a very proud Mummy moment for me!


Feeling a little bit of my childhood returning to me, in my wedge heels I climbed up past Leo balancing my iPhone in the sides of my jeggings, and hanging my big camera on a branch...All the while willing myself not to fall. When I perched myself a few branches higher than Leo, he wanted me to lift him up with me... I took this as my time to act my age and not my shoe size and climbed back down to his level.

I forsee future tree climbing experiences in our future...



After our very lovely stroll around the Autumn woodland, my mind pondered how we were going to get back up the hill again. The slippy, muddy hill that may prove a little difficult if Leo decided he wished for me to carry him. But my little champ climbed all the way back up with complete ease.

What a superstar!



Here is Leo's Autumn Adventure in the woods.
The very first of many..





  

6 comments:

  1. This is why I love being the mum to a little boy..i know we're going to have so many adventures!! Yay for autumn too..gorgeous photos!!! :) Beautiful little family.

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    1. You are going to have Soooo many adventures :) x

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  2. I love these pictures, looks like such a lovely day and I bet Leo loved it!

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  3. We love autumn in our house and it looks like you guys do too! Gorgeous photos Laura. x

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