Fall Break at Black Forest Academy

Sunset on Blauen mountain

Happy Reformation Day! Or for those of you in North American, Happy Halloween! And Happy All Saints Day tomorrow!

A four day weekend means that some boarding students have gone home to see their parents while other parents have come to Kandern to visit their kids here. Many families of home students take the opportunity to travel while others take a deep breath and relax (or catch up on marking essays!). With David’s middle school play performance coming up at the end of the week, requiring frequent practices, we didn’t make plans to venture far from home. Instead we are enjoying the lovely world in our backyard.

Last night we decided to re-do one of our favourite hikes from the past year: hiking Hochblauen in the dark. At 1,165-metre-high (3,820 ft), Hochblauen isn’t the Alps, but it is our nearest mountain. We’ve hiked up it from various points multiple times over the past year, but one memorable time was last New Year’s Eve when we arrived at the top in time to see the sunset and then wandered down in the dark. It was one of our unexpected adventures, especially as we chose a new path going down. But it was truly beautiful to be out in the pine scented glooming.

So yesterday we took advantage of the clocks changing to see the early sunset again from the top of Hochblauen. Autumn colour. Crunchy leaves. Sensuous smells. Twinkling stars. Bright Jupiter. Grinning moon peaking between the boughs. It was lovely. Time together as a family is a precious gift of God with which He restores the soul. What does God use to restore you?