Autumn Nature Journal

I traveled recently to a wedding, and had a few hours of time before the ceremony. I took my nature journal for a stroll around the hotel grounds.  

The hotel was bordered by an undeveloped meadow with old orchard trees, creating space for an impressive array of native wildflowers -- from familiar goldenrods and white clover to Virginia Mountain Mint, an icy, peppermint-scented plant that makes me feel as though I've been swept away to the Arctic wilderness when I smell it.

Here's the list of plants I found:

wild strawberries

coneflowers( Rudbeckia)

Dogwood red osier?

Goldenrod

St. John's wort

Wild dogbane

Shaggy mane mushroom

Queen Anne's Lace

Mountain mint

Horse Gentian (honeysuckle family)

White clover

Cottonwood

Pear trees

crabapple trees

apple trees

Liatris?

Thistle

Wild grape

Privet

Red oak

New england aster

Willow

I sketched as I went, and found a windblown cottonwood twig with golden leaves to take back to our hotel room and draw.

There's nothing so grounding to me as drawing plants. I notice as many details as I can and sketch them in.  The dance between using two or three different shades of yellow colored pencils to create the hues to match the cottonwood leaves feels a little like a workout.  When it's done, there's a quiet satisfaction that rises up.

Now when I look back, I see little reminders of our time away from home.  I feel grateful to the wildflowers, trees, and geese for making me feel connected to nature. 

Art at the Beach, Part 3

The ocean waves rolling into the beach where David and I visited were stronger on the second day of our stay. I could hear the pounding surf all day long as we sat up by the dunes.  We could feel the energy of the waves washing over us, & scouring the grayness of winter from our bodies.

Our first day on the beach happened to coincide with low tide, and the beach was littered with beautiful shells.  I gathered a handful and made pencil sketches.

 

I enjoyed following the delicate lines of the shells, looking mostly at the shells sitting on the sand, and only occasionally at my drawing.

You can begin a journal with any theme you like, from nature observations, to your travels, to journals of imaginary characters.  

I hope you'll give yourself the gift of time sketching this week!