I started a nature journal when shelter-in-place began. I like to sit on my porch in the sun and write down what I see, hear, feel.
The journal is homework for a naturalist training course I’m taking, but anyone can do it. I’ve found it calming in the midst of the pandemic. You can follow the guidelines of Naturalist John Muir Laws, but really any pen and paper will do.
So far, I’ve watched a black bunny hop down the street and crows mobbing a small falcon away. Lots of dog walking, kids on bikes, and drivers wearing masks. I sketched a succulent and its red blossoms sitting on the coffee table outside while wondering how long this will go on?
My journal has a story too! I picked up the notebook (which was hand covered I believe) two years or so ago at an unusual campsite in Central Oregon in the Painted Hills area next to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Called Land’s Inn, the place is a remote grass-covered airfield with a hangar and antique planes.
It was the early season (May 2018) so no one was there when I showed up after bumping along a dirt road toward the top of a ridge to their homestead. The husband and wife owners let me camp even though it was technically closed. Next to the hanger, his mother had set up a tiny thrift shop filled with odds and ends. I found the notebook there and bought it for two bucks. It has been waiting for use ever since. I added some cover art and here it is!
I’m loving writing in my journal and also like to cut and paste clippings and photos into it. Give it a try!
