Nature Journaling and Field Sketching

May 4, 2023. Favorite nature writers - I had trouble with this one, not sure why, because I read a LOT of natural history, or non-fiction with natural leanings. I came up with authors whose writing I have loved, such as Scott Wiedensaul's Living on the Wind (a deep dive into bird migration), Mia Kankimäki's The Women I think about at Night (travel, exploration, writing, thinking, self-reflection). But I don't consider them "nature writers". Mark and Delia Owen's The Cry of the Kalahari is another. What I love about these three (and many others) is the quality of the writing, the storytelling, and how evocative they are of place - which I think perhaps is what I'm trying to explore in my field sketching. If I can feel a place in a way that allows me to produce a watercolor sketch that evokes that feeling, well, then I've arrived! Reflections - When I wander out in the woods, I certainly reflect on my surroundings, but I don't tend to express that in my journal. When I tried to organize these thoughts, it turns out that they lean toward reflections on the people who have made an impact long before I stood in that spot. Stone Walls - Was there a solitary farmer, making the rounds, picking up stones after winter had passed? was it a family outing to pile the stones, step back, have a look, and add one more? Was it to keep the cows out? keep the cows in? The landscape looked much different then than it does now... I'm here for the trail through the trees - those farmers worked hard to remove the trees - clear the land for a hay field, for a pasture. And once felled, what became of those fallen oaks? lumber, fence posts, firewood? a house, a barn? Now the oaks fall and lie there - scaffolding for a squirrel, upturned roots offering underground crannies for a black rat snake, a chipmunk (ah - one or the other, not both).  One day I'll try to capture a stone wall in watercolor - there is so much to it :-) When my thoughts turn to birds or plants - I tend to think about early naturalists - not in Connecticut specifically, but those who wandered the forests and clearings well before the farms were everywhere. They were collectors of observations but also of objects (plants, birds). The Baltimore Oriole caught my attention today - the first I've seen this spring. What a great example. Wikipedia says Carolus Linnaeus described and named it in 1758, based on the heraldic colors of Lord Baltimore (golden yellow and black). Well, a deeper dive shows that English settlers in the area that became the US state of Maryland were calling it the Baltimore Bird in 1669, and yes, they named it for one of their colonial governors, indeed of the Baltimore lineage. Now I find Mark Catesby, a young Englishman and one of the first naturalist/artists of the American colonies, who included this bird in his work The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, published in 1731. Catesby called it Icterus, the Baltimore Bird. Carl Linnaeus very likely used Catesby's description in his Systema Naturae (10th edition), but changed the name to Baltimore Oriole because he (old Carl) was familiar with the European orioles that look similar - but Catesby was right! It's an Icterus, of the American family of blackbirds. Mark Catesby's Baltimore Bird (above) and my Baltimore Oriole (below, done a few weeks ago, for a friend). I'll wrap up my reflections with this - Naturalists, scientists, observers, thinkers, artists, journallers - we have all been at this task for CENTURIES!! Linnaeus may have put his binomial pen to paper in 1758, but I've only scratched the surface, and found that he stood on the shoulders of oh so many others. We now have incredible access to information, but those facts are built from the observations of people like us, through centuries of spending time in nature, with journal and sketchbook in hand. It has been so wonderful to spend this time with all of you, these last few weeks, and to see your sketches, paintings, observations, words, poetry. Wow, you are all an inspiration. I'm so excited to see what's around the next bend in the trail. - Sue H. And Liz - thanks for being the spark, so gentle and encouraging, but, as Bruce Springsteen said, you can't start a fire without a spark.

Some of my favorite nature writers have been Edwin Way Teale (his series Journey into Summer, etc.), Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams, and the poetry of Wendell Berry.  Thank you Liz, for this wonderful class.

The Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard recently posted on line, His commitment to the environment. I think that this is important for a class like this to consider. Journaling is inspiring. I am a retired art teacher and can' wait to go out and practice the many valuable lessons I have learned in this course.

I have not read many poetries or nature writers' books, though I am an avid reader of other genres. nature journalling is the new passion I developed from my travel diary concept. I used to write my travel journal as information. This nature journaling is an amazing field and was reading loads of information from the internet and found from this course and also watching  Mr. John Muir's nature journaling videos were very inspiring.  We as a family love bird watching, nature walks, trails, and hiking, I want to really learn and understand the concept of nature journaling in a more professional way to refine my drawings and understand the detailing of journaling.

Thinking about this, I realize that I haven't read a lot of the classics of nature writing (including most of the works that are quoted above).  I consider "nature writing" to be a fairly broad subject ranging from pure science to memoir.   I love anything that inspires me to get outside, especially if it teaches me to notice something new--this includes field guides and trail guides!  Some favorites of mine include: Mary Oliver, Rumi, John Muir, Kathleen Jamie, Claire Walker Leslie, In Praise of Paths - Torbjorn Ekelund, The Way Through the Woods: On Mushrooms and Mourning - Litt Woon Long.  

I enjoyed Charles Darwin's one.

One of my favorite book is The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady or the facsimile reproduction of a naturalist's diary for the year 1906. Edith Holden recored in words and paintings the flora and fauna of the British countryside through the changing seasons of the year. Her diary inspired the outlined lettering I created for the title of this journal page and the the addition of a poem titled Yellow Warbler by Katherine Lee Bates next to my Yellow Warbler painting/drawing.

I thought about Beatrix Potter as I was starting this journaling class.  I have always admired her watercolor paintings and the stories about Peter Rabbit and all the other wonderful animals.  Although she is best known for her children’s books, she also did scientific illustrations.  Her imagination, creativity and detailed paintings are an inspiration to me.

".... pss, wake up! yes, I know, it´s raining and it´s a cloudy day, but, don't you think it's the perfect day to start it drawing? so quiet, relaxing, inspiring... first of all, let me tell you that I can appreciate that you grow and develop in a very healthy way, your warm and incipient brown tones prove it, seems like you feel confortable and calm too, surrounded and protected by all those powerful `acículas´, but... I can see some kind of loneliness, maybe, not too many birds or other species today..." "... yes! you're right, obviously they prefer leafy trees with bushy leaves, making them feel warmer,  I suppose offering them more shelter, but I'm not worried, in other conditions they will return, it´s nature and their mechanisms... but let me start sketching you, because in my perception I could appreciate an harmonious and lovely contrast between the different scales of rose on the leaden gray background. creating an anticipatory, balanced and beautiful canvas..." "... hey! and what about me? no connection? no merit? It could be fun, why don´t you try to give shape and relief ... to those brilliant droplets that I keep carefully in balance and their double function, drop by drop, slowly, with a lot of pulse and the exact amount of water and paint with your amazing and fantastic brushes? can you do it achieving the same effect?..."

I quite enjoyed Charles Darwin's passage about bioluminescence in the sea. His writing drew me in and I was able to imagine what he was describing with much enjoyment.

"...good morning, good morning, good morning. Watch, now, how I start the day, in happiness, in kindness." (From Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver).

I loved the other students' reading suggestions. Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek captures my imagination and Lilia's Trotter's simple but exquisite water colors take my breath away. Elizabeth Goudge, a twentieth century British fiction writer first sparked my interest in her descriptions of nature. She captures not just the details but the essence of a thing, often with humor.  I sense God speaking to me through creatures and beauty. Below is one such lesson. “Chip. Chip. Teacher, teacher.”I scan branches,  searching for the bird with its unmistakeable calls. Ah, there he is, so easy to spot with bright red plumage. Cardinals make me feel satisfied, because they’re the one bird I can always identify. I call him, Mr. Cardinal, because he reminds me of a creature suitable for Downton Abbey. His crest gives him an air of importance like a top hat. The black mask he wears contrasts pleasingly with the red, and he wears it like a British gentleman lost from a masquerade party looking for his wife. Mrs. Cardinal, likewise, fills her sophisticated, if old-fashioned, role. She fusses over the nest, responsible for its construction and tidiness. Her garb of elegant feathers blend hints of orange, rust, gray and sand. She’s not nearly as showy as her counterpart, but doesn’t need to be, which makes me respect her all the more. She tends the eggs while her husband flies away to hunt, and returns to wait upon her with his catches. In the birdbath, the pair take turns watching for predators and bathing. These two birds live respectable, monogamous lives. Each has an important job and relies on the other to do their part. They delight me and grant me a feeling of wholeness. That is, except for one of Mr. Cardinal’s curious behaviors. He habitually taps his reflection. He pecks the window, and I caught him striking a car’s side mirror. At first, his action is humorous, but when repeated, it becomes irritating and alarming. The poor fellow will damage himself and drive us crazy in the process of exorcizing his doppelgänger. Of course, he’s defending his territory and his spouse. I wonder what Mr. Cardinal sees? A frightening masked threat? A disgusting flirt? What in his reflection alarms or repulses him that he must attack? Mr. Cardinal, please stop. I am grieved that you peck at something you wrongly perceive. You are an entirely satisfactory bird just as you are, but you’re wasting your efforts in this never-ending loop while your family needs you elsewhere. The only way you’re going to be rid of your reflection is to turn and fly away.

I appreciate the writing of Rachel Carson with her Sense of Wonder with the "dreamy quality of remembered joy". With a nature journal that I kept of my journey through the Pilbara area of  Western Australia, I can remember my thoughts and impressions on that wonderful journey with its striking red rocks, green spinifex, and Sturts Desert Pea. Back then, I was mostly a photographer but I also carried a nature journal and colored pencils. Since I was traveling with others and could only take pictures when the group stopped, I wrote and sketched what I saw to compliment my photography. I will never forget that journey and it would play a role in my life as a science educator some years later. 

I love all the nature writers already mentioned, but want to add an Appalachian woman writer Barbara Kingsolver. Even though she is a fiction writer, her background in biology gives such depth and quality to her descriptions about nature. Also, she has written some essays, memoir, and poetry.

I like to read about people who have outdoor adventures, past and present. Two of my favorites are Labyrinth of Ice and Swimming to Antarctica.

I don't have a single favorite author, but one of my go-to books is Home, by Beth Powning. Her writing and photography resonate with me. Here a few quotes: "I'm five years old and I know the sacredness of bluets, and the primacy of trees, the world that came first." "Spring wildflowers cannot be picked; they're as ephemeral as the season itself. I've arrived home with limp trout lilies int he palm of my hand. They cannot bear separation from the soil." So I picked a couple of sitspots, down in my horses' pasture where I sketched and painted the  pasture hues of spring: white flowers, blue flowers, and yellow flowers. I practiced with my watercolors, handling the amount of water in the brush, mixing colors, and observing the tiny details. I experimented with watercolor pencils, and the Sakura pen which we didn't cover in the class, unfortunately.  I

I don't have a favorite nature writer, yet! At the beginning of the course, the quote by Annie Dillard was inspirational: "At a certain point, you say to the woods, to the sea, to the mountains, the word, Now I am ready. Now I will stop and be wholly attentive". I wrote it down in my note book and started researching about the author. She has interesting books which I added to my 'list to read' this summer. Hopefully! I was inspired by her words, it reached deep into my heart and made me rethink and relook at things. "The woods, the sea and mountains", I will add the flowers, the birds and the skies  I will look closer and listen to the whispers of beauty immersed in each petal and each feather and each cloud, then say, I'm here looking and listening. Below are the images from my nature journal, I have two now, one for my drawing and observation experiences without color, then added one for observation with color, which will be filled with the beauty of nature. Thank you Liz.  

Rainer Maria Rilke "Requiem for a Friend." And only then, when I have learned enough, I will go to watch the animals, and let something of their composure slowly glide Into my limbs; will see my own existence deep in their eyes.......   Today I took a walk thru a neighborhood preserve. I encountered countless birds - the American Golden Finches are in town eating the seeds from the CA Canyon Sunflowers. Most surprising, however, was a soft grey mole that I saw in the street trying to climb back up a curb to return to the woods. He must have fallen over the edge, and he / she was skirting the wall of the curb, unable to scale it/ climb back up onto it. Heading downhill the mole would have eventually fallen down a storm drain. I looked around for a way to create a ramp that it could use. Running out of time, I did find a couple pieces of bark and I gently picked the mole up and returned it to the duff. In a second or so, it was no longer visible as it had nestled itself under the leafy duff.

John Muir and John Burroughs come to mind for me when I think of naturalists. I have enjoyed reading materials from both.   I also visited the sparse cabin of the American naturalist John Burroughs in Roxbury, NY.  It has fantastic views of the beautiful Catskills Mts.  You can see the huge rock in a field that Burroughs would often sit on where contemplated nature.   I usually wake up early.  Most of the time it is just before dawn when the sky is a l pale blue-white but brightening.  Sometimes It may be cloudy too but interesting enough I found out  that if you have patients you may suddenly see clouds move away and slight hints of pink appear, and if you stay with it  you may see  rays of color suddenly dash across the sky like a pale watercolor wash. But if you can keep watching you may see transformations that will “amaze”you.    I found out that I had some beautiful sunrises that looked like pictures I had taken on vacation but to my surprise this was in my own backyard while I was sleeping .   I have developed an interest in watching as many sunrises as I can.   I love seeing the first rays of sun creep along the horizon with very dramatic effects at times.   This all happens just as the sun is coming up and it’s a magical time.  It won’t last too long, and every sunrise is different.  That’s nature.  Prepare to be “amazed” !

April 11,2021 whether near a stream or in the woods on a trail or off the beaten path I sometimes find myself in a daze after a busy intent day at work., its a way to find peace. I  can unwind in nature either nature journaling , bird watching or trying to find the perfect photography setting of a bird that can stay still. what is important is being still and patient, staying still taking in your surroundings to notice things and alerting your senses. This past week I was walking around a lake photographing any waterfowl that may be around and that I heard that have been spotted by other birders. I decided to take a side route, trail that was quieter than the trail I was on. walking around a bend I noticed a male goose standing on a ledge which told me not to disturb him so I walked far around him not to disturb him. where was it's mate? well on the far side of the gorge there she was walking around a patch of circular white patches, stunning!!! clutch of eggs were laid on a cliff of a gorge. I was very far from disturbing a the geese and snapped a photo of the mother goose and it's eggs; I walked away without disturbing their peace.

John Muir. Wisdom for the ages. My favorite writer. He sometimes wrote with a near aching poignancy about the simpler things in nature.Claire Walker Leslie for nature journaling.

As a child, I spent summers in the country near Lake Michigan. I developed a real love of Nature and read a lot of Haiku. As a young adult, I enjoyed reading Thoreau and Emerson. When I retired, I started gardening for wildlife and reading about spiritual ecology. One of my favorite books is "Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth" by L. Vaughan Lee. Some of the books I've learned the most from are "Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life" by Edward O. Wilson, "Gaia's Garden" by Hemenway, and "Inheritors of the Earth" by C. Thomas. Some books about birds that I enjoyed the most are "Why Birds Sing" by Rothenberg, "The Gift of Birds" ed. Habegger, and "Gods of the Morning" by Lister Kaye.

I really don’t have any particular nature writers. Audubon of course as we have many bird books.  The only thing I could think of was a beautiful rose that bloomed through the recent....last week... we had a severe Ice Storm.  Trees down, electricity out for days, freezing cold,  wires down.  But Joseph’s coat rose bloomed as if nothing happened.  I hope you enjoy te photo...

Everything about Rachel Carson’s life and writings have inspired me, from my early years as a teen in the 1970’s to the present. There is still so much to learn from her. John James Audobon’s Birds of North America will forever be my favorite illustrated guide to birds. I love the exquisite details in his illustrations. I also have a collection of Clare Walker Leslie’s guides for journaling and sketching, and most recently Jean Mackay’s The Nature Explorer’s Sketchbook , For the Art of Your Discoveries. I’m inspired by their encouraging presentations of techniques for beginners like me. I haven’t begun writing reflections very much yet in my journaling, but this course has opened that window for me to explore. This course has given me so much to go forward with, to better appreciate the amazing natural world all around us, in every corner of the world. I’m having so much fun now, experimenting with sketching birds and creatures outside my window and on local hikes during this winter of pandemic confinement. Thank you, Liz, and Cornell for bringing this course into my home.

John Muir is my favorite because of my Biology and Environmental Science classes but the best poem (my dad taught me this poem when I was little) has been TREES by Joyce Kilmer I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. Now, I am working on my poem...  

A background in nutrition led me to Wendell Barry's writing that I like a lot.   I look forward to someday having/taking  time to read Vita Sackville West writings about gardening.   Thanks for the good examples of writings on nature.  I have made additions to my book list. My rather unpoetic reflections about observations, or lack of them,  follows. Upon starting nature journaling and observing the specifics of my surroundings more closely, I realized that I was missing opportunities.  Prioritizing 'responsibilities' causes me to  fast-pace by ongoing processes in nature that occur right under my nose.  A new mahonia, thankfully thriving and happy in its' soil, pot and location in our back yard, threw out brilliant cadmium yellow blooms that were designed to turn the most preoccupied heads.  The more subtle but no less beautiful berries that the blooms yielded, made me realize that nature offers gifts every minute of every day and that sometimes the necessary 'slow down' for a closer look can be richly rewarding!

I enjoyed Rachel Carson's piece, I could hear the chorus of birds through her writing.  I also enjoyed the piece about strawberries - feeling the sun's warmth, the smells, and seeing the actual strawberries in my mind. Here's my journal from Nov. 4 2020; I spotted one of three Heron's that frequent the ponds near me in Ottawa.  I wrote today adding to it, from the Heron's perspective: "Oh lady, won't you ever leave me be? I see you approach, quiet, respectful, but I see you there. With your tools and curious eyes.  I don't want to be seen yet here you are. Our eyes meet and nervous, you make me! On edge, I wade.  On edge, I wait. Until it becomes unbearable for me to sit in peace.  I fly away to another corner far away from you.  "

11/26/2020 Outside my Window. What a delight, on Thanksgiving morning, to see a buck outside my dining room window just staring at me. He out-stared me, for what seemed a long time, and I finally backed away so as not to frighten him. With his measure of safety he proceeded to the backyard, piled high with fallen leaves, and first enjoyed a tasty laurel then a number of succulent bushes here and there. To my surprise, the main dish was then in the fallen leaves. He sorted through them, so it wasn’t just any leaf, but special ones. I’m not entirely sure, but it looked like it was the older leaves, wet and closer to the ground, he was after. He traveled back again to the side of the house; delicately picking just the right  fallen leaves. For these magical moments, I am grateful.   What a delight, on Thanksgiving morning, to see a buck outside my dining room window just staring at me. He out-stared me, for what seemed a long time, and I finally backed away so as not to frighten him. With his measure of safety he proceeded to the backyard, piled high with fallen leaves, and first enjoyed a tasty laurel then a number of succulent bushes here and there. To my surprise, the main dish was then in the fallen leaves. He sorted through them, so it wasn’t just any leaf, but special ones. I’m not entirely sure, but it looked like it was the older leaves, wet and closer to the ground, he was after. He traveled back again to the side of the house; delicately picking just the right fallen leaves. For these magical moments, I am grateful.  

I like the economy of words in writing haiku because otherwise I don’t focus as well. I use it often to describe things in nature. Bushtit Haiku: Blow in quick, gone fast Kamikazi moves Lightning strike waves on feeder. Group ESP flash Feasting swarm ALERT! Blizzard of bushtits, poof! Gone!    

Was really inspired to look at some of the authors mentioned that I had not read before.  John Muir, Rachel Carson, Thoreau have always been favorites.  I have never been one to wax poetic, but found the reflection exercise interesting.  I will try to include more of this in my journal.  

From The Perspective Of A Mantis Observing Me: When I walked back home and got to the door of my house, I felt an uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching me. As I opened the door, the feeling became very intense. I looked scared to my right and saw two round eyes. The little mantis analized me for a long time. Sometimes I am the Observer, other times I am observed. I was surprised by the strength of her presence.  I wonder what these creatures think of us.

It was wonderful to see we shared so many favorite authors, Mary Oliver, Bernd Heinrich, Terry Tempest Williams, Aldo Leopold to name a few. Thanks to all who mentioned John Muir, I will be revisiting his work. As I spend time in the garden this time of year (October), there is the "should" to  clean up and put the garden to bed,  both vegetables and native plants. As I get older I find this gets less important, no need to disturb the small ecosystems, most of which I am not even aware of. Better to sit and watch, and maybe draw. Thinking of Mary Oliver's poem "Nothing is too Small to be Wondered About", and while watching life happening on the mountain mint, I saw what looked like tiny flowers moving on the leaves. What an amazing discovery for me. The larvae of the Wavy-lined Emerald Moth, which nibbles off pieces of the flower petals it eats and sticks them on it's back for camouflage and if it moves to a different plant (new color), will change the camouflage to match. Indeed there is nothing too small to be wondered about.

The context for my nature journaling and reflection is set against the backdrop of fire and smoke. I live in Portland, Oregon. We had rented a vacation home in eastern Oregon, months ago. Our plans were to hike and get out into the wilderness of the Cascades. The dangerous levels of smoke in the air that week forced us to stay inside.  After our last dinner, my husband began the preliminary packing of the car for the trip home the next morning. He stuck his head in the door and whispered, “You’ve got to come out here. Be really quiet. There’s a black-tailed deer bedding down, just behind the house.” I quickly grabbed my sketchbook, marveling that I might actually have a nature experience to draw!  Quietly I sat down about a dozen feet from the doe. I was amazed that she didn’t flee. Her large ears and eyes stayed focused on me for a bit until she decided I was not a threat. I have been around deer all my life, but this was the first time that I had the opportunity to observe one so closely for such an extended period of time. As I drew I appreciated the dimensions of her body, the colors and textures of her coat, the unique markings on her face and how those amazingly large ears swiveled to track the sounds around her, searching for danger. All of the sudden behind me I heard a sound, an animal sound I’d never heard before. The sound indicated a fairly large animal. It was sort of like a “m” sound, a hum.  I froze, looking out of the corner of my eye to see if I was in any danger. However, when I glanced back at the doe, her ears were still. She sat placidly chewing her cud. She sensed no danger so I relaxed.    Then, a surprise burst into a view. An independent fawn, still with black spots, bounded around the corner as if to say, “Hey Mom! I’m home!” It was the fawn making that noise! I didn’t know that deer made noises. I watched them, sketching them until dusk made them disappear in perfect camouflage for the night. My “failed” vacation ended up being one of my favorites. I learned many lessons about being still. The lesson I hold most closely came from those two deer. Even amidst the worst of times, there is beauty and wonder if you keep your eyes open and embrace opportunity.

I was able to sit for 30 minutes or so with a snow bunting today. Then I used the prompt to write this. "Conversing with a Snow Bunting" Snow bunting, here we meet on the dock.  Human, here we meet on the dock.  Bunting, where did you spend your summer, on what faraway tundra? What is tundra like? I don't know.  Human, where did you spend your summer, in what city? What is a city like? I don't know.  Bunting, will you winter here or migrate further south? Human, will you winter here or migrate farther south? Bunting, what's that you're finding in the gravel and the grass? Human, what's that you're finding in that flat thing that flaps in the wind? What are you doing with that stick? Bunting, when did your feathers change to wintertime white, caramel, and black? Human, where are your feathers? Bunting, I wish I could talk to you. I'm sorry that I don't speak 'sparrow.' Human, I wish I could talk to you. Sorry, I don't speak human. 

What a course we need more of them

I enjoy Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau  two famous Transcendentalists.  I love to sit in nature soak in the sun, sound of the ocean and a forest bath and just become content in just being.

(In response to covid-19 I was looking for quiet road where I could jog and my dog could be unleashed. I found a spot and have returned to it 4 days a week since early April. Much of my drawing has been inspired by what I saw there and now I share part of it with you.) Island and I Early April Island: The ducks are back again, drifting beside me, she in brown, he with his dark head and glowing white eye patch, diving for food then, resurfacing and drifting again. Me: I park opposite this small island in the middle of the Madawaska River, off the gravel road, ready to run with Molly. My eyes are drawn to the river and what looks like chunks of snow floating on it. Eventually I realize that it is ducks but as I draw closer they lift and with a whistling sound quickly disappear. Island: Over the next few days more Goldeneye arrive and some mallard pairs, feeding and seeking places to raise their young. The woman has appeared often, parking her little green car, appearing now and again long the road, stepping out in a small clearing below me with her dog, then disappearing again. Me: I arrive quietly and slip out of the car, binoculars and bird book in hand trying for a clearer view so I can identify these ducks. Finally I decide they are Common Goldeneye. While I observe them for several weeks I never see their nests in hollow trees on the far side of the island nor their young, before they are gone. Early May Island: The Canada geese have arrived. Just a pair make their nest at the tip of me. The nest is away from the road so She will not see it. I wonder when the other pair will arrive. Me: I see a pair of Canada geese floating in a quiet spot at the end of the island. I will have to check it again and see when the young have hatched. When I go down the bank to a sandy stretch I am surprised to see so much black mixed with the pale sand. Looking closer I realize that it is hundreds of emerging black flies. Climbing the bank I lean against a cedar to stretch then see all the small black flies lining it as high as I can see. Hemlocks, maple and poplar are similarly covered. While I may not enjoy my run here next time, the birds should be happy. Early June: Island: I do enjoy the song of returning birds and seeing them flit among the bushes. Jays, kingfishers and sparrows, even wrens fly back and forth. Heron fly down the river and the occasional bald eagle sits atop my tall pines. I wonder if she sees them. Me: There is so much to see along the road. Just the flowers: rosa rugosa, starflowers thimbleweed and cardinal flowers. Some I know but others I have to look up in my wildflower book. Then there was the doe I was watching, lying in the shade on the road when another doe came up from the river right beside me! Both took off while I searched for young. Where are the young? Were these two escaping the deer flies? Another day as I was ending my run, a flutter of swallowtails rose up around me. What joy! They settled on a damp area on the road and could be found there for a couple of weeks. What drew them to that spot? It was no longer a puddle and did not seem to be a source of food? June 18 Island: She has sat there for a long time, looking at me and drawing. Will she capture the rapids and quiet areas which keep the fish and birds returning here? Will see notice my magnificent white pines? Me: It is hard to capture the variety of plants on the island; grasses, bushes, maple or oak and of course the tall white pines. The campers must love lying beneath them. I only wish I could see the other side where the Goldeneyes hid. The colour of the water and the rapids are particularly hard to capture. Three ducks flew up the rapids too quickly to identify. A white-crowned sparrow flits among the bushes beside me, while blue damsel flies dart from water to grass and a red squirrel chatters above me. Molly and I will return because I look forward to seeing more flowers emerge, birds flock up and trees change to their brilliant fall colours. But for today I say good-bye to the Island.

This is the most recent entry from my journal. I have watched this Japanese maple for years, sometimes from the chairs I tried to include in my watercolor, sometimes looking up through the leaves while lying in a hammock. I have used its branches to teach my students about stream order in watersheds. There is a remarkable resemblance in the branching of trees and the branching in rivers. A colleague of mine dubbed it "a lightshed." There are two poems that have stuck with me over the years. Mary Oliver's The Summer Day and Robert Frost's Nothing Gold Can Stay. I've also enjoyed reading Wendell Berry. From the Long Legged House: "We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world... We have been wrong. We must change our lives, so that i it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and to learn what is good for it... For I do not doubt that it is only on the condition of humility and reverence before the world that our species will be able to remain in it."

It took me ages to answer this question. The reason is that I discovered that we don’t have well-known Arabic author specialising in nature writings. There are some pieces here and there but none could be categorised as nature writer. There was a book on nature I read before - yes the book subject is relative, yet the author is not. The Arabic title is: غريزة أم تقدير إلهي I read it twice.. the rest of the books I have are translated.  This made me wonder if it is me who’ve never thought of the subject or is it the publishing industry that doesn’t pay much attention to the topic? Anyways, the book I’m enjoying at the moment is Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees. I can say it is the sociology of trees’ book!

A Reflection Once, I found a lover's note, and wept for simple beauty. Strange, that what to microscope, was only carbon stain on oxidizing cellulose, could cause such longing, pain.  I found a desert lily, once, and wept for the sheer beauty. Saint John said "... the Life was the light of men." As all reflection is light, I think this is what inspires me most.

I did like Aldo Leopold. However, it is difficult to make a judgment for an extract of something. It would be good to read more to have a clearer sense of what the nature writer wants to share with the world. I have realised that I do not write a lot in my sketches. I tend to write the place and the time only, but more details could be helpful to be added in the future.

Annie Dillard is by far my favorite nature writer.  Through her, I discovered the genre of creative non-fiction.  She changed my view of nature through her discussion of abundance.

Some of my favorites not mentioned already- Claude Monet, John James Audubon, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Vincent Van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe, Susan Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, & Sir David Attenborough. I find that I have similar perspectives with each of them and connect to the peacefulness, relaxation, and the wonders of exploring the natural world especially more in the time of Covid-19. Thank you to all of the fellow students who have shared suggestions, support, and insight throughout this course. Thanks Liz.

I noticed a large insect flying over a trellis in my desert back yard while I sat on my patio.  I was amazed that the dragonfly was of the same color.  It thoughtfully posed for me as I took this photo.  I am not sure I would have investigated what it was had it not been for this course.  Noticing even the smallest things comes easier after being still in a sit spot.  Terry Tempest Williams is one of my favorites.  I am working my way her essays on national parks the The Hour of Land.  The Hidden Life of Trees  by Peter Wohlleben will make you walk through a forest with new insight and respect for the ancients that live there.

Here's my journal page from March 16. Liz had just taught us to look for our "Sit Spot"; our place to sit, sketch and make observations. However, it was too chilly to be outside as I noted, so I watched a Carolina Wren, my favorite bird, from my window, and made a few quick gesture sketches. These wrens have the most animated body language that changes their shape from sleek to puffy and fat as they hop, run and launch themselves into the air. I see them year round in Southern Illinois; they often build nests in the most inopportune spots, regardless of human activity. I wrote: "A wren, one of our pair who've made a nest in the wreath by to our front door, sitting on the crook (that holds) a lantern. He bobs and looks left, bobs and looks right, repeats then hops down to the birdbath. Again bob, tail up, tail down, bob, look look..." Thanks to all my fellow students for their insights and lists of favorite nature writers and poets and shared journal pages. I'd like to add Hannah Hinchman, nature journalist extradinaire to our list, and Michale Pollan for his wonderful book, "The Botany of Desire", and artist Andy Goldsworthy who creates the most splendid ephemeral sculptures outdoors from twigs, rocks, leaves, sand and ice. His work can be experienced in the video, "Rivers and Tides, Andy Goldsworthy, Working with Time" from 2001.  It's reassuring to know there are so many other nature lovers out there. Kathy B.

Thanks to my fellow students for your suggestions on nature writers that you enjoy. I had not heard of Mary Oliver before - I don’t read a lot of poetry, but will look for her work. I’ve enjoyed Peter Matthieson, Bill Bryson, Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, and just finished Terry Tempest Williams’s The Hour of Land. I’d like to read more of her work. I have started journals many times before, but never with the intention of also connecting it to observing nature and actually illustrating it. My journals have tended to be about what I “do” not what I “feel” and I hope I can bring in more of the latter. One of the positives for me of having this coronavirus lockdown has been a chance to more intently observe the natural world around me. Lots of walks, hardly any driving, and really noticing the changing from late winter to early/mid spring. Also, to contemplate what changes seem to be happening all around us due to the “built world” and climate change. In the Chicago area, we’ve just experienced our wettest May on record and Lake Michigan and surrounding waterways are at all time highs. How will this affect our area going forward - both from a human standpoint and for our natural world? Will this time of “stay at home” have any longer term impact - maybe not on our environment, but perhaps on our attitudes towards it, so we appreciate and will fight harder to protect it? All things to continue to observe.

I taught this text for over twenty years to high school juniors. As part of the assignments they were to keep their own journal by observing nature in their yards, on their walks with friends, on bike trips, and any other opportunity. It was usually done in the spring for two weeks, but once it was done in February. Though the students at first were a bit reluctant, most of them at the end of their experience said it was one of the most worthwhile things they had ever done. They had never noticed before what was around them. Now that I am retired I, too, notice what is around me every day in my yard, on my walk or bike trip. As the air clears all over the globe, due to Covid 19, I am grateful that Mother Earth can breathe again and that I have time to notice her beauty even just in my yard. I will draw and paint and record and feel soothed and refreshed and grateful.

While I have read nature writers like Muir, Thoreau, and Darwin, I haven't read them recently enough to claim a favorite. I'll work on that! I just went to my toasty desert backyard to do some reflecting myself and found myself waxing a bit philosophical, comparing the needs and worries of a house finch to myself in the time of a pandemic. It was a helpful to sit overlooking nature and think beyond myself for a short while. I look forward to spending time with my nature journal on a more regular basis, observing, recording, and thinking. A quote from my journal, "In these uncertain, frightening, and divisive times in the midst of a pandemic, nature provides a bit of solace, some salve for the spirit." I'll make an effort to continue looking for the emotion support in nature and art!

I read Wendell Berry in college and loved his writing.  He lived on a farm in Kentucky and since I live in Ohio, I felt we were neighbors. I hear a little traffic from the freeway but the house being built next door is silent and I am hearing birds in our wooded yard.  Oops, someone's doing yardwork.  It is supposed to rain hard later but now it is fairly quiet and cool, around 55 degrees outside.  I  really feel at home in the woods, especially being alone there.  Looking forward to practicing my new drawing and watercoloring skills out in the field.  There is a lake close to me that I look forward to painting soon, as the weather picks up.

When I was a little girl, we had this book on the table in the den at home - Audobon's Birds of North America. I spent hours looking through it over and over again.  The paintings were so beautiful.  It was a 'good' book, so I had to handle it with care.  It was an inspiration to become an artist (something I'm not at all today).  My mum was an inspiration to pay attention to nature, as she knew all the birds from their songs and all the wild flowers in mountains.  When I moved to a new country a few years ago, one of the things that bothered me right away was that I didn't recognize the birds any more. This course is my first real journal.  I've started many but never stuck with it.  This course has been a wonderful inspiration. Hopefully I will continue when it's over.

This is a text I wrote years ago but I think it suits well in this. I hope it does. "My first day of this year fieldwork for the Breeding Birds Atlas was a good one. I saw 35 species and around 100 individuals. I'll try to visit the places I choose not to visit last year. Methodology plays a huge role. Last year was very rainy during Spring, so I had to rush things a bit, like using the whole day length to accomplish it. Although the best hours to look for birds are the 2 hours after dawn. Even if I sleep 3 to 4 hours usually the night before!!! You need to sleep better!!! The Dawn choir still is fantastic. It's not real polyphony but a mix of counterpoint, polyphony and minimalistic music. A powerful wave that doesn't overwhelm our ears. Psycadelic sounds, Trance or House can't be compared. Birds don't like beat boxes (?) Their beat box is a drumming woodpecker."...

I’ll never forget the day I purchased my cork screw willow. It was just a twig in a pot. Every season I have watched it grow and twist some more. But now today just four years later what a surprise! We had torrential storms last night in East TN. Looking at my rain gauge I noted 5 inches of rain ! So I took a. Short walk around my property and spotted robins bathing in a puddle of water surrounding the cork screw willow. What a delightful scene to view on this blustery cool spring morning. Below is a quick sketch of the scene.

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?