3/1 The crocuses are coming up. Is it early?

Is the natural world around you different from the way it was when you were a child? Perhaps it has even changed since you were a young adult. It has for me and I know it is so for many people. Climate change is happening and now, with greater awareness of it, perhaps it is time for those of us who like to record our lives in our journals, to consider chronicling climate change.

I have always noticed (and have sometimes written down) those normal firsts during the course of a year.

April 29 - Peepers! NS 2006

The first time I see a robin, the first crocus or forsythia or lilac. When I first run into June bugs on the front door screen or hear the cicadas in the summer or the peepers in the spring. That these sightings may be occurring earlier or differently than they used to was not the reason I noted them. I think I was more moved by the solid evidence that these things were happening on the exact same date from year to year.

April 17th, 1996 CT 1st forsythia sighting by 18th it is difficult to look without seeing one Tyler tells me many people believe them to be: “for Cynthias”

If I did it for any other reason, it had to do with creative writing. When writing, it’s often useful to have at your fingertips real notations of when the Indian Hawthorne blooms in Texas or if it’s believable that the first snowfall of the year might be as late as January in Connecticut or if a character could be hearing the frogs at dusk in Nova Scotia in mid-April.

May May 6th - first lilac blooming - CT 1998, CT VERY WET SPRING - Rain everyday for 14 or so also cool May 11 — NS 2006 Forsythias in bloom

However, looking back at my nature journal now, I realize that there is benefit in the simple act of jotting down what is happening in the natural world. I only wish I had written more and started earlier in my life.

If you plant a vegetable garden or have perennial beds, why not consider keeping a journal dedicated just to what happens there each year?

August The Cicadas have come! CT, 1995 Wow… once again, 1996

Not only will you be more likely to improve your gardens by remembering through your journal what works and what doesn’t, you may also notice more readily the changes that are occurring in the weather. The first and last frost dates, the fact that certain crops used to die on the vine but now have time to ripen, the withering of other crops due to higher heat.

July 11th 1998 My Birthday Took myself to Sherwood Is. St. Park Beach After sitting on the beach for an hour or so, I walked down one of the nature trails. Was followed—hovered over—by a red-winged blackbird. It flew back to its nest and another came up, chattering at me. Felt as if I had an escort. Then, on the way back, I saw 7 or 8 goldfinches! Only me on this trail despite hundreds of people only yards away.

While it may be human nature to avoid awareness of unpleasant things—especially when we feel helpless to do anything about it—it is a natural reaction that, in this case, needs to be resisted. If we notice in our personal lives that things have changed, we may be more likely to change ourselves in the process. Decide—at the very least—to be aware of what is happening to our world and in order to facilitate your awareness and your memory: record it in your journal.

CB 2003 ~The summer of baby owls~ Juveniles by the time we spotted them. For days and days there were hanging around the edges of the yard everywhere we looked. Saw the parents less often, but frequently. Screeching “hunger” calls sounded like a bobcat

The images you see here are simple notes from my nature journal. The notes I make are ordered only by month. Because I have moved around and travel frequently, I am always careful to note where I am and the year but otherwise, the placement is random. This provides a quixotic juxtaposition of the years of my life that I find pleasing. ***That sentence provided a place to use two fun *x* words that I also found pleasing.

May 17 NS 2006 Earliest spring since I’ve lived here. We’ve had warm to hottish temperatures since last Friday (12th) - a little rain one night but other than that: SUN. All the trees have their leaves though. Unlike most years on June 1st when they POP out all at once, they are opening gradually. This is almost 2 weeks early. Cherry trees beginning to bloom. The journal was a gift from my mother and the pages of it are graced—that is the only fitting word for them—with illustrations by Marjorie Bastin. As you can see they are gentle, accessible and charming images of birds, eggs, nests, dandelions with Marjorie’s own nature notations. Simply beautiful. If you have the time and interest, consider illustrating your own nature journal.

One of the most beautiful books that I’ve seen on the nature journal is A Trail Through Leaves - The Journal as a Path to Place, by Hannah Hinchman.

June 2005 -9th- in Maine for Cadi’s birth the lilacs are in full bloom

Happy Journaling!