Nature Journal Update: Hiking the Late Summer Woods

Since April, David & I have hiked over 400 miles through Raccoon Creek State Park --I've logged each mile. On many of those treks, I had a nature journal tucked under my arm.  I'm ever amazed at how keeping a nature journal ties you to the land.  You see subtle changes, what's in bloom -- now Joe Pye Weed and goldenrod take the fore, as Bergamot and Bee Balm fade.  You notice how the oak leaves have become pock-marked with insect damage and how the Wild Turkey young have grown almost as big as their parents, and have smooth plumage.  

Lately, I guess every bird must be molting for the fall as I find gorgeous Wild Turkey, hawk and owl feathers on the trail.  Can't help but scoop them up and try to capture their essence on paper.  Pretty soon it will be acorns and colorful autumn leaves.  Sketching what's going on right now, following the seasons, has it's own calming effect.  The wheel of the year rolls on regardless of what is going on in human realms, and its consistency is a balm to my soul.

Nature Journal Update: Day Lilies

I recently watched a YouTube video about adding a simple background to nature journal sketches of plants and animals to help capture the place and moment.  I thought I'd give it a try, and I love the added depth of the page.

Click here to see John Muir Laws' YouTube video that inspired me.

Hiking Day

Doak Field is still dressed in winter colors.

Saturday afternoon the clouds cleared from the sky, and I had free hours to slip on my backpack and traipse out to the woods and fields.  I carried two nature journals -- one is 9" x 12" with plenty of white paper to fill up, and the other, 6" x 8", is filled with brown paper.  The little, brown journal is my primary nature journal -- small, friendly, and easier to balance as I walk and sketch, it provides a midtone starting place to work lighter and darker into the drawing.

From my journal:

I wander Doak Field realizing that this time in the sunshine under the Bluebirds' sky is precisely what my soul needed.  A Song Sparrow's call bids me welcome. Wish I had my tea thermos like I had back in my Oak Openings days.  

Sitting in Doak Field watching the bluebirds hunt.  Perched on a low limb of a cherry tree, their impossibly blue wings catch the sunshine as they sail to the mowed earth after their prey & then flutter back up to their branch. 

Bright sunlight made every line crisp and had me reaching for pen and ink to capture the scene. 

Nature Journaling

A 70 ℉ spring day gave me a chance to toss my watercolors and journal into a backpack and hike the state park with my oldest, Sarah.

We hiked down to the lake, and found where the road to the swimming beach was closed to vehicle traffic.  The entire berm of the road had washed into the lake, and with it went two mature trees.  While Sarah explored the area, I sat nearby the washout, and sketched the scene with Sakura pan watercolors.  I have the Koi Pocket Field Sketch Box of 24 colors, and they delight me to no end -- very portable, with bold, bright colors in just the right hues.

A view of the beach bath house and swimming area.  The trees on the far hill seemed painted with a fine rose-colored wash -- the red maple buds beginning to awaken to spring!