It has been lovely having a few days in the countryside, visiting my folks, these past few days. I have been enjoying spending time with them and hearing stories of years past. I also have loved my walks through the fields and trees, with my dog, Charlie.
As he has gotten older, I find that he has slowed down somewhat. The other day, I paused to soak in the view and enjoy the moment under the blossoming crabapple tree. When I looked at him, I found that he was doing the same thing. Just quietly enjoying. He was sitting in the grass beside me looking up at the crabapple blossoms, and the blue sky visible through the branches and leaves. He looked serene and at peace
Crabapple blossoms
When I go outside and I’m with the beauty of the spring flowers, the blooming yellow forsythia, purple and white lilacs, pink crabapple, and white apple blossoms, and the green foliage of the trees, I feel immense gratitude. I also feel like I’m drinking in to quench my incredible thirst as I look around me and savour the moment. I revel in the delicious beauty of it all, of spring in the countryside.
This looking and seeing, and if you choose, even to document details of the trees and plants and the animals around you, is good for your soul. It gives us a connection to the natural world around us and a feeling of honoring the essence of each of the plants that we look at and record. Whether it is an art journal, a sketchbook, or a written journal, these recorded details can also be invaluable and over time, leave a history. So much of our recorded data on the natural world around us is from regular people who kept detailed notes. The detailed journals and writings of the every day person, over time, have provided information that scientists can study and use to learn about why and how things have been changing over time.
I was thinking about this recently because I heard mention of a book by Aldo Leopold called “A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There” and a book called “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer, both of which I am putting on my To Read list. In that podcast of Joe Lamp’l, known as Joe Gardener on social media, he was interviewing Theresa Crimmins, an associate professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson and the director of the USA National Phenology Network.
They also talked about the fact that there is an over 1200 year span of written record for the activity of the beautiful cherry blossom trees in Kyoto, Japan. The notes have been recorded about the cherry blossom trees there since the years in the eight hundreds. So, scientists are aware that the trees are now blossoming at their earliest in the whole 1200 years of records. During the podcast, it was explained that the detailed observations and records started being kept as a way to honor the essence of the trees. This is something that I would love to learn more about.
Looking and seeing.
Spring in the countryside in rural Ontario, Canada.
Noticing the changes in the natural world around us, is something that also encourages us to take a moment to practice mindfulness. And it leaves me feeling a sense of renewal and refreshes me. I remember back to my childhood, when I used to sit for hours sketching and drawing the trees, or a single branch, a sea shell, or a leaf and the smallest details, while also trying to show the essence of whatever I was drawing. Those moments seemed to be so much slower than now. When I look back I see time in slow motion or almost standing still as I sat and sketched. I still get that feeling at times now, but these moments can be fleeting. Right now, I have been savoring the moments and quenching my thirsty need to be out of doors, in the natural world. The time spent these last few days, recording details of nature, and enjoying being outside in the trees and fields, I feel a sense of renewal and I hope that I not only look but that, I am seeing.