My
Nature Story
Introduction
“If you
feel something calling you to dance or write or paint or sing, please refuse to
worry about whether you’re good enough, Just Do It!”
The Spring of 2019 provided me with an explosion of
nature. I returned from my camping trip
in Georgia and had the unexpected and completely wonderful experience with the
fox family living under our very special Little House. Not long after they left, migrating warblers
began landing on our farm and along the trails of Island Lake Estates. When the warblers flew away, the wrens took
up residence, raised their families and kept me totally entertained. Eventually, all the babies fledged, the wrens
moved out to the fields and I thought possibly nature was going to take a rest
but that didn’t happen. It seemed, as
if, every time I was in our yard, pasture, woods and along the trails, there
was a new adventure. One evening, I
wrote, “I took a walk in nature, through a swamp, all I heard, all I saw and
experienced, made my senses explode.” That’s the way it was during the Spring
and Summer of 2019…BOOM!!!
In August, I went on a camping road trip to Wisconsin,
Minnesota and Iowa. During my visit with my friend Gail, in Wisconsin, I was introduced
to the book, Letters From Eden: A Year at
Home, in the Woods by Julie Zickefoose.
Gail loaned me her copy, I brought it back to the farm, read it and enjoyed
it so much that I purchased another Zickefoose book, The Bluebird Effect.
As I was reading my new book, I was inspired to write some
of my own stories in a little red note pad.
I continued doing this every day and eventually wrote, “hopefully, I can
put all my stories in a book for my daughters”.
On the next page of the note pad, I added ideas – why I love birds,
attracting them, squirrels, wrens, warblers, etc. At about the same time, I read this passage in
The Bluebird Effect, “It’s that spark
gleaming in the cupped hand of my own experience that I want to bring to
you. I want to tell you their stories”. That was it, I knew I had my own stories to
tell, I wanted to share them with my family and so, I quit reading The Bluebird Effect, and as is frequently
said, “The rest is history”.
For years, I wrote in my journals that I wanted to try
writing a book but this never became a reality.
It always became just work – thinking about the actual writing and then
trying to find someone, anyone to be interested and also dealing with all the
frustration and expected disappointment – too much time involved – not worth
the effort – would be like a job and then being fired. Now, the idea of writing
a book just for my girls, created in me an enthusiasm I never had before.
I already had journal writings about the fox family,
warblers and wrens. I had nature essays
I’d written over the years, new stories to tell and on my computer were
pictures, lots and lots of pictures. Recently I came across this quote “We take
photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” Through the years, I’ve accumulated
many, many “tickets” and I was ready to cash them in to enhance my stories. It
seemed obvious to me that I had all the necessary requirements to write my book
and so, it was full steam ahead.
I became totally absorbed, I would sit in my blue recliner,
look out my big windows, be inspired, write a story in my red note pad,
transfer it to my computer, rewrite, sort pictures, make copies of finished
story, put the sheets into transparent sleeves, add them to my notebooks and
then move on to the next - it was as if I couldn’t stop writing and the process
made me very happy.
I started my project in September and by December (2019), my
notebooks were full and the time had come to bring it to a close. I wrote my
final thoughts, added my final pictures and that was it, done, complete – The
End.
I enjoyed everything about this project. It proved to me that I could stick with my
writing – not start and lose interest.
It allowed me to document my love of nature for myself and for my
family. It was an experience I’ll never
forget.
Just
Curious
I don’t know if there’s a God, a Mother Nature or some other
“higher power” so, I’m going with “Universe” - I think this year, The Universe,
said, “Regarding nature, I’m going to throw everything I have at you – what you
do with it is your business!” and my response, “Dear Universe, I caught what
you threw, wrote the story and shared it.
Thanks for giving me this opportunity and I’m curious, what comes next? Sincerely, Margaret”
(January 15th, 2021-Unfortunately, the Universe
decided to throw a Pandemic!)
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