Another page that explores nature but, this time, it is my nature that is being looked at.

Mary Oliver is a dear and much favoured inspiration for me for the last several years.  Her deep connection to the natural world always touches my heart.

This is a painting from my backyard and some comments that came to me as I sat in the sun doing this work.

I feel that the character of my journal is gradually emerging.

I love many nature writers and many of them have been mentioned.  I also have some nature poets that are wonderful.  Here is a favorite poem by the great Mary Oliver.

When I Am Among the Trees

by Mary Oliver

 

When I am among the trees,

especially, the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

 

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

 

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, “Stay awhile,”

The light flows from their branches.

 

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,

“and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine.”

My favorite nature metaphor is from a song called, "All I can do is write about it." The line is, ....."have you ever seen a she-gator protect her youngin', or fish in a river, swimming so free......have you ever seen the beauty of the hills of Carolina, or the sweetness of the grass in Tennessee." By Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Some of the other nature metaphors I enjoy are, a song by John Lee Hooker, Blue Bird. Where he sings about the travels of a bluebird, in his opening lines.

I reformatted a Skynyrd poem, into my own verse. ........."Have you ever seen an Orange Spider, spinning her webs, so skillfully. Have you ever seen a Hummingbird fly, so free and so free. Now see Spider and Bird dance and fly together, so gloriously."

I like the fact that birds are the universal animal for states and stamps. Why ? Do all countries have a national bird ?

Do all states, countries, and post offices use a bird for a stamp ?

My favorite bird is an IBIS, because it has multiple sides/traits. Sort of comical, bold, fat, skinny, short, long, etc...

Not pure boldness, (EAGLE) or humor. (TURKEY) A Funny Bird. A 'combo.'

 

Here are two pages from my Nature Journal.  I painted the outflow creek from Sagamore Lake, and wrote a reflection on how much that place means to me.

Birds are the definition of freedom in the world, flying through the skys with out limits.

Went out and visited the cottonwood from the scene I painted in February. Saw a buttercup and a Skwala. Reflected a bit on new life and the original social-distancer, John Muir, my favorite writer in nature.

I love the works of Edith Holden, Maria Sibylla Merian and Beatrix Potter. Also Emily Dickinson's poetry

My favorite nature writer is David Carroll-his books are a reverent and spiritual look at New England's turtles, wetlands and riparian habitats.  His intimacy with the Blandings, Spotted and Wood turtles that he follows from Spring through Fall in Webster, NH is inspiring and fascinating.  He knows each of the turtles by their carapace and knotches he has made on their tales.  His deep love for the swamps, wet meadows, marshes and streams that he knows through many years of walking through them is an insight into wetland ecology so few of us have experienced.

Bernd Heinrich is my other favorite nature writer.  His book-Trees in My Forest- is an amazing forest ecology and natural history book.  He writes about the forest on this property in Maine and its history and ecological changes through the years before and after he acquired the land.  I learned so much about tree morphology, physiology and anatomy, and chemistry.

I write nature prose and poetry.  I have for over 20 years now.  Being in the New England woods and mountains, watching birds and wildlife, observing plants and trees is a spiritual and inspiring experience for me. It makes it so easy for me to write and reflect on the amazing beauty and diversity of the Earth.

I like Thoreau, Bill Bryson, John Krakauer, and Edith Holden. Thoreau expresses how I feel in nature: Bryson adds a touch of humor and reminds us to laugh at our mistakes out in nature: Krakauer is a great journalist about man in nature and reminds us that while we can laugh at our mistakes, some mistakes are fatal: and Holden's journals from 1906 are exquisite in their artistry and prose.

This is from my very first entry--a drawing of my ultimate "journaling hero," Charles Darwin. I'm more of a writer than an artist but am fascinated by the interconnections among the artist (whether visual or verbal) and scientist and in the salience of all their observations and reflections (Darwin's fighting words). So! You can imagine how delighted I was by Liz's selection of texts, from some of my all-time favorite observers and reflectors. I was unfamiliar with Kimmeler and Heinrich, so am glad to be introduced to them. Thank you!

I have been writing for a while adding drawings brings a new dimension to my journaling.

 

 

There are several nature writers whose work I enjoy. At the top of my list is the poet, Mary Oliver. Shortly after her passing (January 2019), I started a journal incorporating some of her poems with my watercolors.
I’ve also enjoyed Lyanda Lynn Hauptmann’s “Crow Planet” and others. Reading Bernd Heinrich books I’m always amazed by his beautiful sketches.
This class has inspired me to get several of my favorite books from the shelves to reread parts.

I enjoy reading Thoreau and Muir and sometimes their books accompany me into the woods. I find much inspiration reading Teilhard de Chardin, such as "The Phenomenon of Man." Their works remind me that we are all interconnected, no one is an island, and we -- including all nonhuman life forms -- are all inter-related in some fashion. In a cosmic sense, we are stardust.

 

A favorite poet is Gerard Manley Hopkins. A striking line for me is from his poem "God's Grandeur" (1877):

"The world is charged with the grandeur of God. Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod? Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod."

(Today's journal entry:) My personal challenge is to slow down, waste time; know the difference between looking and seeing. This morning, a friend and I took a long stroll through the Untemeyer Park in Yonkers, NY. The sun was intensely bright against the cerulean blue sky. The air was cold and crisp, making one wanting to inhale deeply the breeze off the Hudson River. Birds were particularly quiet on this November morning. An occasional crow made its presence known in the tall oaks. I did hear the song of a bird I never heard before. It was beautiful and odd at the same time. It came from the high weeds at the edge of the woods. Then the song was not heard again. It was as though it fled because I had stopped to focus on its presence.

One thing I noticed in the surroundings of this beautiful park made me deeply sad. Leaves of maples and others still hung to their branches. The trees should be bare at this time of year. Is this a consequence of climate change? The warmer days are extending more into the months of winter. Will fall eventually morph into spring and winter will only be a memory? What will the future climate be like if I do not learn to feel?



This is the picture I took today from the park. Across the Hudson River are the Palisades Cliffs in New Jersey.These basalt cliffs are over 200 million years old.

I enjoyed writing about the bird alarms I had heard this morning. It was very much not their usual baseline chorus. I spent time trying to figure out what all the hubbub was about. Writing down the different birds that were all in on it, helped me feel more connected to them. I also spent time writing about the sheep on our farm, noting their subtle behaviors and different characteristics. a very nice calming exercise!

I liked the way Charles Darwin describes the sea luminous experience, I found interesting the details he gives about his experience, and how he deduced many things from the observation.

Last weekend I went for a walk and also aiming to have a great birding day for my birthday, I could not draw, but i started thinking about how nature writers express their observations and I preferred to start writing the feelings of that moment.

This course is inspiring me to seek out writings of naturalists! My experience has been limited to quotes in calendars and such. John Muir's "When we try to pick out anything by itself we find it is hitched to everything in the universe" is a favorite. Another is "The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best it today", a Chinese proverb. The act of nature journaling is requiring setting time aside for quiet, introspection, and observation. It is becoming an outlet for thoughts that have been rolling around in my head for awhile, concerning how did we get to now, and what is true?