Artist in a Snowstorm

 

I've been seeking enrichment -- something different in all the sameness of a life lived in this quarantine.  Nature cooperated and provided me with the beauty of a snowstorm.

Art for Self-Care: Nature Sketching

A constant in my life over the last few years has been hiking with David. Our routine hike takes us down 5 miles of trails through woods, past meadows and over streams to a backpackers' camping area in our local state park.  At first, we hiked for fitness, and to be together.  

When the lockdown began, I started tucking my nature journal under my arm on our walks, and sketching when we stopped for water breaks.  While I immersed myself in drawing a May Apple or a wobbly cherry tree, David would read the news on his phone, finding it less stressful to digest the news out in nature.

I filled one nature journal, and started another by in mid-summer.  Having hiked 730 miles since April, I continue to add sketches on each hike.  It helps to have this routine in my life, & to create and connect with nature.

A Stormy Start to a New Journal

Starting a new nature journal can feel like starting a journey of infinite possibilities, but also can feel like a perfect, blank book that you don't want to make the first mistake in.  Thursday afternoon, David and I went out on a hike and I took a brand new nature journal with me. About 2 miles in, we found ourselves slogging through a summer rain shower.  By the time we made it back to the Adirondack shelters in the park, we were soaked to the bone, and my brand new nature journal was no longer crisp and fresh, but soggy-edged and mud-splashed.  Somehow, this felt like the best of both worlds -- still open to infinite possibilities, but also not so precious that I couldn't make mistakes.  A great start.

A Hike in the Autumn Woods

A gorgeous autumn afternoon beckoned today, so I loaded up my backpack and set out on a 5-mile hike.  Everywhere I looked was brilliance and beauty.  I stopped along the way to eat the lunch I'd packed, sitting right down on the trail under the most magnificent maples.  Sunlight illuminated the golden leaves so they looked like lanterns.  How relieving to the soul to dwell under trees like this:

On the hike back, the setting sun poured in from the west to fill the woods with long, low rays and blaze through the brilliant leaves.

 

Happy Autumn to all! May you get a chance to witness nature's great show!

Bike Ride with a Painting Break

In celebration of Labor Day, I hopped on a bike with a pack of art supplies on my back and zipped down the Pan Handle Trail towards Bulger, PA.  Though the town name didn't sound promising, the expansive, rolling landscape was inspiring, and I stopped at the crest of a broad hill to paint.