The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › The Power of Reflection
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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.
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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?
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We have a Phoebe which returns every year. It likes to watch us the way this one is watching the goats. Fun picture.
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