Connecting with Nature

Recording your experiences with nature can be rewarding in many ways. It can allow you to revisit happy and/or interesting memories. It can also allow you to keep track of those experiences that you would like to remember for future use. One example would be a trail that you hike at a particular time of year that you enjoyed because of the wildflowers blooming or wildlife encounters such as turtles sunning themselves. Keeping a nature journal can also be a creative outlet. I have seen examples of journals that are full of drawings and short stories. For someone artistically inclined, nature can be very inspiring.

For children it can be a way to record aspects of nature that they have learned about. They can gather elements that they find during adventures in nature such as leaves, flower, seeds, feathers, and other interesting things. This is a great learning tool as they can identify the items and learn more about them. I remember in grade school the projects of finding dead dry leaves to press and then identify the tree they came from like oak, maple, elm, and hickory just to name a few. More advanced students can even go further by specifying the type of oak, maple, or hickory.

The journal doesn’t need to be elaborate. It can be a simple notebook or binder. I have used notebooks in the past but started recording my information on my computer word processing program a couple of years ago. It can be a family or an individual effort. There are no rules but I would suggest being consistent with your format to make things more convenient and easier to reference. You can separate things according to region, activity, or even just by date.

Just to sum things up, keeping a nature journal can be fun, educational, relaxing, and helpful. It can be in any format you desire and can include any information you choose. This can be a very inexpensive activity for individuals and families and is a good early step into furthering your enjoyment of nature.

An example of a journal format:

North Carolina Trail Journal

10-6-13  Pond Trail (Jordon Lake State Recreation area) – 1.25 miles.  Located at the Seaforth area,  Took 1 hr and 5 min to walk at a leasurely pace. Pine trees throughout the walk and 3 stagnant ponds.  The trail occaisionaly comes close to the shores of the lake which are sandy.  We saw a Kingfisher flying over the lake.  The trail was easy to traverse and was covered with pine needles.

10-13-13 Buckquarter Creek Trail (Eno River State Park) – 1.5 mile loop trail, took 55 minutes to walk at a leasurely pace through easy terain.  River veiws for part of the trail and we saw two turtles and a Blue Heron.

5/11/14 Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area – Did a combination of trails but was sure to include the Overlook Trail (.15 miles).  The Mountain Laurel was in bloom and the view was beautiful. Several rock formations.

Bird watching can be an easy way to start learning about nature and you don’t even need to go anywhere. Starting with a bird feeder and asource to identify birds in your area can fuel an interest in nature.It can even become competitive among family members trying toidentify the bird first or seeing more species.

Any type of wildlife identification is a good way to start either by buying identification books or using websites to help with wildlifeidentification. This information can then be used during a walk or ahike to understand more about the animals and plants that you see.Some guides can be more expensive depending on the quality and thedetail included. I would suggest starting with an inexpensive bookthat is limited to the area you live to help learn the basics and notbecome overwhelmed by the information, There are also free websitesthat can help identify birds, trees, plants, and other aspects ofnature. I have also noticed videos on line as well if that is moreyour learning style.

We use a squirrel proof bird feeder that is mounted on our 2^ndstory deck. Before switching over to the squirrel proof feeder, thesquirrels would clean out the feeder and the birds did not get muchof the food. It was comical to watch the mischievous little creaturesbut I don’t think the birds appreciated it. We were able to witnessseveral batches of baby cardinals learning how to use the feeder fromtheir parents as they squawked while perched on our deck railing. Wehave also been able to identify several species of birds such asgoldfinch, purple finch, Carolina wren, dark eyed junco, sparrow,black capped chickadee, and titmouse.

Installing bird houses is another way to attract birds. You can findplans online with specific dimensions for different types of birds.This past summer we had a eastern bluebird use one of our boxesattached to a very large tulip tree in our back yard. The parentskept us entertained when they would attack the squirrels who used thetree as well. A helpful link that provides specific measurements forbird houses is:http://99birdhouses.com/bird-house-hole-sizes-and-dimensions/.

I have also toyed around with the idea of putting in a bird bath. Iwill have to let you know how it goes when I get that done thisSpring.

To sum it up, a great way to start your nature adventure can be assimple as obtaining the following items:

1. Birdfeeder
2. Bird identification book or access to website
3. Bird houses
4. Other identification books such as one for plants, trees, animals, insects

Please feel free to leavecomments on your experiences or questions about my posts.

The benefits of learning more about nature are limitless but include:

• Relaxation
• Great way to spend time with family
• Anyone can participate
• Encourages healthy activity by including hiking and camping
• It is inexpensive

Learning about nature and becoming involved with nature activities is a versatile hobby with multiple ways to include it in your life and spending as little or as much of your time as you would like.

A good example of how nature can enhance your life would be a typical camping trip. My family has enjoyed this activity for as long as I can remember. After planning where we would like to go and getting our supplies ready, we would arrive at a campground and start by putting up the tent. We have had some cases where we had to do this in the rain and while it is not much fun at the time, it does make for a memorable trip. We would also set up our sleeping bags (and when we got older, our air mattress). Most of the time we would take a hike using a trail map after gathering kindling for the fire we would make that evening. That is when we would be able relax and take in the smells and the sounds of the great outdoors and nature at her best. My son’s favorite camping activity has always been sitting around the campfire cooking food we would normally only have when we were camping like mountain pies, marshmallows, and sausages. We have had times where there were uninvited visitors such as skunks, raccoons, and opossum. Because there was no TV to watch or games to play in the evening, the family spent time talking and getting to know each other better. I believe this is a prime example of how nature can bring a family together.

Studying and becoming involved in nature can be a fun family activity for all ages. It can promote family bonding by sharing the experience of learning and discovering. When people hike together as a group and experience watching an animal in it’s natural habitat such as a beaver building a dam, this gives them a shared experience to talk about later.

One of the more important reasons to learn more about nature is to introduce it to kids as part of a family activity. It can be a good way to keep them off the cell phone or you can use apps from the cell phone to track progress on a trail or identify animals, plants and trees. Of course, depending on where your are, cell service may be non existent. Either way, it can show them how they do not need to be dependent on technology for entertainment or learning.

Now, I’m not suggesting you start your introduction to nature with a camping trip if you have never done it before. I think an easy way to start would be with a walk or hike, take a tree identification book with you and make occasional stops to see if you can identify some trees. In future posts I will have other suggestions that you can try to become more involved with nature.

Some identification books that I would recommend would be: National Audubon Society Field Guides and Peterson Field Guides

Or you can use online sources such as: https://www.thoughtco.com/identify-name-tree-using-leaf-key-1343488, https://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/

Bottom line is nature is an important part of our world and there are many benefits of learning more about it. Learning about and becoming more involved with nature can bring a sense of inner peace, relaxation, and bring families closer together. You can choose to participate in this hobby as little or as much as you like and there are activities that all members of the family can do regardless of there physical or mental limitations.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

My main purpose of this blog is to bring the love and interest in nature to anyone who reads my posts. I will begin with basics but plan on expanding to include more details. I hope to have some input from readers on what they want to know more about and their experiences from the beginning. I will always encourage readers to participate by adding their thoughts and suggestions on how to improve the blog. In the future I will add more information such as trail guides, identification of wildlife and plants, and possibly forums for nature enthusiasts to share ideas and experiences. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts!