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I got a chance to examine a ground squirrel up clo

I got a chance to examine a ground squirrel up close recently. Sometimes an unexpected event can turn into an opportunity for nature journaling. My border collie caught this fat squirrel-- it happened so suddenly. I sat with him on the grass for a while noting the quality and color of the fur, the little ears and fine whiskers, and cool feet.

For animals that dig massive burrows I was surprised how small their hands were. They must use their big rear feet to did, I presume.

Sad to see this guy, so I used the time to honor this little being and get to know it and thank it before he became food to nourish our other wild animal neighbors.

Have you come across the circle of life? Any dead or decaying nature? What did you learn from observing and tapping into curiosity?
#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

The fresh yellow-green leaves of the coast live oa

The fresh yellow-green leaves of the coast live oak trees glisten in the sunlight. Eventually the new growth will trnasform into the deeper green of mature leaves. But for now there is a glow on all the oak trees in my neighborhood.

What non-deciduous trees (they don't drop all their leaves in fall) are in your nearby nature? And what do you notice is going on with them?

#sparkinnature

Beach treasures! This time a cool gelatinous creat

Beach treasures! This time a cool gelatinous creature and a spiny mole crab molt (hard shell that it shed).

Sometimes nature captures my attention, and I only have a few minutes to explore before having to move on (walking with a friend and the focus was not to stop to journal). I can say out loud what I am noticing (this helps with preserving the information in my memory) and taking a few photos. Later I can go back and to a memory nature journal entry-- I try to recall as much as I can from my memory. Then using the photo to help me with things I forgot-- like the weather, date and time, size or other details.

What did you notice recently out in nature that made you stop? Can you add it to your journal today? What do you remember from it? Any sounds, smells, textures, thoughts or questions?

Please share your discoveries: #sparkinnature

#naturejourn

I love forsythia blossoms. They remind me of my ch

I love forsythia blossoms. They remind me of my childhood- cool days tromping around the back yard and seeing golden stars hanging off of bare branches.

These poor shrubs were pruned back hard into tiny balls (the wrong shape and size)- and yet the plant still does what its meant to do. So resilient. This is what plants teach me all the time. They pretty unstoppable--perhaps if we are trying to kill a weed, we might think twice about what we can learn from such tenacity and persistence.

Weeds are just plants that we've forgotten their value. Like dandelions.

What common plant is around, that you can take a second look at. What is its stage of growth today? Does it have bare branches, or full of leaves or maybe flowers emerging?

Adding these to your nature jouranal with the date, time and location is a start to collecting seasonal knowledge of your place.

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

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Flowers come in variety of shapes and colors, numb

Flowers come in variety of shapes and colors, number and types of petals. One characteristic that can tell us what family they belong to is the number of petals

HOW MANY PETALS?

Here's your nature search for today: Seek out flowers. Count how many petals it has, and record them in your nature journal. If you don't know the name, it ok. Start off by counting petals. Write down what you notice, the color, the shapes, the smells, any thing you wonder about it.
Post it with #sparkinnature

Here we have numerous petals, 5 petals and 6 petals!

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

How pages come together. I often don't have a form

How pages come together. I often don't have a format in mind when I begin nature journaling in the field. I wait for something to catch my eye, then I watch it. Notice and wonder, and then when I'm inspired I start scribbling. I've taken to calling my sketches 'scribbles'--it seems to take any pressure off of me to create a good picture. With all the gorgeous clusters of pine needles I didn't want to get stuck drawing them all in perfectly. I did like a modified contour drawing, capturing the most important characteristics.

I added the title and finished up the text when I got home.

#naturejournaling #fieldjournaling #sparkinnature

Sometimes the ordinary catches your attention. The

Sometimes the ordinary catches your attention. The tall Monterey Pines were swaying in the wind, and their gorgeous shapes drew me in. During a walk with my dog, I pulled out my Journal, sat on a log and scribble sketched a few trees, and recorded what I noticed.

What ordinary nature can you take a look at, and see something new?

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

To find out how to participate in my other nature journaling workshops and classes:
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

Delightful spring treasures- miner’s lettuce is

Delightful spring treasures- miner’s lettuce is flowering now. The leaf is shaped like a collar beneath a cluster of small white blossoms. These leaves are a fun addition to salads.

Forest Finds. I looked for signs of spring in the

Forest Finds. I looked for signs of spring in the Monterey Pine forest on this day. Some familiar wildflowers were emerging.

What caught my attention were the cool shapes of the very tall old pine trees (see the tiny person below for scale?). Scribble sketches with splash of color for the pine needles.

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

To find out how to participate in my other nature journaling workshops and classes:
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

Nature treasures collected on a walk. Interestingl

Nature treasures collected on a walk. Interestingly this is springtime, but found evidence of autumn! It was really fun to draw the magnolia cone as a contour drawing and mostly continuous line. I found that it quieted the inner critic who would normally tell me its not a good drawing, and I didn't get hung up on getting all the nooks and crannies "right".

Have you tried contour drawings in your nature journal?
#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

To find out how to participate in my other nature journaling workshops and classes:
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

Macy reminds me we need to get outside everyday. S

Macy reminds me we need to get outside everyday. She's such a patient companion- she gives me time to nature journal during a beach walk. The waves were crashing in some neat patterns, and the surf scoters were effortlessly surfing waves.

I like to do my sketches in pen and add color in the field. Sometimes, if short on time, I take photos and finish the color at home. But i find that i don't always finish if I don't do it right away, so I've been practicing journaling while walking a lot this past year!

Do you have a favorite place outdoors where you can nature journal?

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

To find out how to participate in my other nature journaling workshops and classes:
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

Ranunculus blossom with its multitude of delicate

Ranunculus blossom with its multitude of delicate pink-tinged petals. Reminds me of ruffles on a dress

Road trip nature journal--scribble sketches. We to

Road trip nature journal--scribble sketches. We took a 1.5 hour drive down highway 101, and because I was the passenger, got to journal the scenery!

The thing I love about journaling this way is that the subject moves so rapidly that my mind doesn't have time to judge the drawing. Before I'm done, i move onto the next one.

I get into a rhythm of looking at something that catches my attention, scribble sketching quickly, and splashing on quick color with my waterbrush and watercolors.

This is great practice in improving your drawing skills, and getting lots of pencil miles in! AND I notice more things in the scenery I would had I not been sketching.

Have you journaling while riding in a train, plane or car?

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

To find out how to participate in my other nature journaling workshops and classes:
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

Spring Equinox! The official first day of spring w

Spring Equinox! The official first day of spring was Saturday, but we can find signs of spring beginning in February, depending on where you live.

I've been tracking the sun as it moves across the sky throughout the year.

You can track changes in the season this way or by noticing what is growing in your nearby nature. A nature journal is a great place to record this!

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

To find out how to participate in my other nature journaling workshops and classes:
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

Practicing from photographs is a great way to deve

Practicing from photographs is a great way to develop your understanding of a subject and increase your drawing skills.

I used a photograph from a wall calendar to practice gesture sketches ( quick sketches without too much detail intended to focus on capturing the general shape and feel of the subject).

John Muir Laws would call this racking "pencil miles"-- practice drawing. This can be done during foul weather, or when you just can;t get outdoors.

Adding some blue background makes the white parts stand out.
I also made notes of what I noticed about the birds, about the angle of bills and legs as they flew.Made me wondering if its related to them getting ready to make a landing? or do they always fly that way? I guess I'll have something to pay attention to when I see then in the wild!

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

To find out how to participate in my other nature journaling workshops and classes:
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

Join us for my interview with Celia Marie on 3/24!

Join us for my interview with Celia Marie on 3/24!

Are you ready to step into a business you feel called to create?

Do you have a yearning to contribute in a bigger way and use your skills and experience to create a life and business that feels good and does good?

I know I did. That’s what led me to leave my conventional career to create my own soul-led business.

I’m looking forward to sharing my journey to building my soul-led business in the upcoming Your Business is Calling Summit.

This is an event for women who are ready to step into their soul’s calling and do the work they feel called to create.

During this 4 day LIVE event you’ll have the opportunity to learn directly from me and other women who’ve made the transition from conventional careers in corporate, not-for-profit and other traditional roles to successfully running soul-led, profitable businesses.

This event will take place from March 22nd to March 25th
Each day of the summit there will be two LIVE interviews at 12pm & 2pm EST with soul-led entrepreneurs like me.

Register here: https://www.celiamarie.co/ybic-summit

Recordings available to registrants.

A topic for nature journaling can be stimulated by

A topic for nature journaling can be stimulated by something as simple as a leaf. On this day, walking through a parking lot to the dentist office I noticed pretty red and yellow leaves in the ground. Not really surprising, we see it in autumn all the time. But I stopped, and realized its March and spring in the northern hemisphere. So why is this tree dropping red leaves NOW?

I've seen these trees with red leaves scattered in the crown all year long and often wondered what it was and why. While I sat in the dental office I sketched the tree from memory, and nature journaled the leaf I picked up.

What ordinary nature subject has caught your attention? What did you notice about it? The color or texture or smell? the size or the shape?

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

To find out how to participate in my other nature journaling workshops and classes:
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

Recently while traveling on the highway we saw the

Recently while traveling on the highway we saw the setting sun illuminating a rain cloud in the distance. It was glowing pink and orange.

For those few minutes I soaked in this view, knowing that its ephemeral-- that it lives so briefly- sunsets last only minutes--and that I will never again see this cloud illuminated this way.

What nature on the landscape has caught your attention this week?

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

Watching the the daffodils in a neighbor's yard- F

Watching the the daffodils in a neighbor's yard- First they were entirely yellow with big trumpets. Now the pale yellow and the ones with small orange in the center. So fun to see the variety.

What changes are you seeing in your everyday nearby nature?

#sparkinnature #naturejournaling

Spring Break Today- No session. Do some nature jou

Spring Break Today- No session. Do some nature journaling on your own and come back next Sunday to share what you found!

The Spring equinox is next weekend. If you want to track the sun, check event listing today for links on how to do that!.
http://sparkinnature.com/events/

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