Oh I love this! Your journal is so pretty 🍃🍂 I journal a lot but I've never thought of a nature one. I’ve only just started dipping my toe into observing and learning. So I actually love this idea. Are you basically saying I *have* to buy a new notebook? You are aren't you? OK well if I must... 😌
I see some people's journals and they appear to be perfect works of art, it's hard not to compare yourself. Some days my journals are just a scribble in my worst handwriting, because I need to get something out. But it's really just for me to look at, so it doesn't matter how pretty or not it is really! Thanks for calling it pretty though Janelle, I'm proud I managed to keep it up for so long, and it did really help. Must get back to it more often!
This is gorgeous Zabby! I’ve not done anything as extensive as an entire journal but am I jotting down things I notice this year in the garden. I love that you started asking yourself questions: I’m going to see if I can do that more too :) (question #1, why oh why oh why are there so many pebbles in our front garden?!? 😂) x
Thank you! 😅 I realised this morning that when it comes to birds I've definitely been asking questions and enjoying finding answers, and the same goes for some of the plants in my garden--I love figuring out what something is, including getting out my bird guide. x
This is incredibly inspiring...thank you for sharing images too. I can imagine my kids would like to join in with too. I have plenty of notebooks (buying them and not using them is a hobby 😂) I just need to venture out into our back garden. I think the thing that makes me hesitate, is when I see your pages and you’ve listed all those birds for example....I feel like I know the obvious ones, but wouldn’t have a clue about most wildlife and flowers. Is it just a case of starting small and doing research afterwards? A side note I find it so sad that we are severed from our land in this way. Unless we are taught (I wasn’t) there is the potential for us to become detached and disregard the precious nature outside our windows.
Lastly, do you keep a personal journal as well as a nature one? Do you sketch images as well as write?
Thanks for your lovely comment Louise! That big long birds list was when I was away with my mum, who knows FAR more than me when it comes to birds and pointed out a huge majority I'd never have been able to identify on my own.
Start with the basics, write down what you know. Then if you see something you're curious about but can't identify, perhaps you can use your journal to note down what you saw and any questions you have. I found that having my journal really helped me go away and research things I was curious about and it's helped me learn so much more. I appreciate that with the kids around it may be a more sporadic thing, or that you might not be able to stand quietly and try to identify a bird for ages and that's totally OK!
Like you say, start small and see where it takes you. I agree about how easy it is to become detached from nature. Doing this, and learning more, has really helped me with that connection.
I went through a stage of doing 'morning pages' which really helped my mental health at the time. I now only journal when I feel like I need to (same with the nature journal most of the time!), but I have one of those one line a day diaries too, which I love looking back on. I don't sketch in my personal journals. What about you?
Morning Pages was my go to form of journaling until I had children and then, well, the morning is taken up by them! Now the clocks have changed though and the little ones are sleeping in for longer I could risk trying to have half an hour to myself before they wake up....as I really do miss the quiet space to reflect and nothing helps me reflect quite as much as introspection through writing it out.
The nature journal has really piqued my interest though. I am being drawn to nature more and more, even in the current book club in Life Aligned it’s Why Women Grow....I think I always decide I know nothing so why bother. But you said it yourself, start small. This spring we’ve been growing things in the kitchen and that’s enough. I like the idea of researching and finding things out for myself and then passing on that enthusiasm and joy to the children. I’ve always been interested in herbalism too. Especially as a Doula seeing the benefits my clients has when mixing together the most basic and simple concoctions.
I’m going to have a little nose around the back garden when I’m feeling better and really feel inspired by your post to start where I am. So thank you 🙏🏻
Ooh I need to start Why Women Grow! Are you enjoying it?
What are you growing? I think that's definitely a great place to start, and a lovely way to involve the kids too. There's not much more satisfying than planting a seed and watching it grow.
I'd love to learn more about herbalism too. That's interesting about your work! Good to know your clients have found some natural things that work for them!
Oh I love this! Your journal is so pretty 🍃🍂 I journal a lot but I've never thought of a nature one. I’ve only just started dipping my toe into observing and learning. So I actually love this idea. Are you basically saying I *have* to buy a new notebook? You are aren't you? OK well if I must... 😌
Haha I am happy to be your notebook enabler!
I see some people's journals and they appear to be perfect works of art, it's hard not to compare yourself. Some days my journals are just a scribble in my worst handwriting, because I need to get something out. But it's really just for me to look at, so it doesn't matter how pretty or not it is really! Thanks for calling it pretty though Janelle, I'm proud I managed to keep it up for so long, and it did really help. Must get back to it more often!
This is gorgeous Zabby! I’ve not done anything as extensive as an entire journal but am I jotting down things I notice this year in the garden. I love that you started asking yourself questions: I’m going to see if I can do that more too :) (question #1, why oh why oh why are there so many pebbles in our front garden?!? 😂) x
I've not filled an entire journal either, maybe that should be my aim for the year... Finally filled my 2022 book!
Good luck with your pebble question haha! X
Thank you! 😅 I realised this morning that when it comes to birds I've definitely been asking questions and enjoying finding answers, and the same goes for some of the plants in my garden--I love figuring out what something is, including getting out my bird guide. x
Oooh me too! That's great to hear Astrid!
This is incredibly inspiring...thank you for sharing images too. I can imagine my kids would like to join in with too. I have plenty of notebooks (buying them and not using them is a hobby 😂) I just need to venture out into our back garden. I think the thing that makes me hesitate, is when I see your pages and you’ve listed all those birds for example....I feel like I know the obvious ones, but wouldn’t have a clue about most wildlife and flowers. Is it just a case of starting small and doing research afterwards? A side note I find it so sad that we are severed from our land in this way. Unless we are taught (I wasn’t) there is the potential for us to become detached and disregard the precious nature outside our windows.
Lastly, do you keep a personal journal as well as a nature one? Do you sketch images as well as write?
Thanks for your lovely comment Louise! That big long birds list was when I was away with my mum, who knows FAR more than me when it comes to birds and pointed out a huge majority I'd never have been able to identify on my own.
Start with the basics, write down what you know. Then if you see something you're curious about but can't identify, perhaps you can use your journal to note down what you saw and any questions you have. I found that having my journal really helped me go away and research things I was curious about and it's helped me learn so much more. I appreciate that with the kids around it may be a more sporadic thing, or that you might not be able to stand quietly and try to identify a bird for ages and that's totally OK!
Like you say, start small and see where it takes you. I agree about how easy it is to become detached from nature. Doing this, and learning more, has really helped me with that connection.
I went through a stage of doing 'morning pages' which really helped my mental health at the time. I now only journal when I feel like I need to (same with the nature journal most of the time!), but I have one of those one line a day diaries too, which I love looking back on. I don't sketch in my personal journals. What about you?
Morning Pages was my go to form of journaling until I had children and then, well, the morning is taken up by them! Now the clocks have changed though and the little ones are sleeping in for longer I could risk trying to have half an hour to myself before they wake up....as I really do miss the quiet space to reflect and nothing helps me reflect quite as much as introspection through writing it out.
The nature journal has really piqued my interest though. I am being drawn to nature more and more, even in the current book club in Life Aligned it’s Why Women Grow....I think I always decide I know nothing so why bother. But you said it yourself, start small. This spring we’ve been growing things in the kitchen and that’s enough. I like the idea of researching and finding things out for myself and then passing on that enthusiasm and joy to the children. I’ve always been interested in herbalism too. Especially as a Doula seeing the benefits my clients has when mixing together the most basic and simple concoctions.
I’m going to have a little nose around the back garden when I’m feeling better and really feel inspired by your post to start where I am. So thank you 🙏🏻
Ooh I need to start Why Women Grow! Are you enjoying it?
What are you growing? I think that's definitely a great place to start, and a lovely way to involve the kids too. There's not much more satisfying than planting a seed and watching it grow.
I'd love to learn more about herbalism too. That's interesting about your work! Good to know your clients have found some natural things that work for them!