What Am I Seeing?
Keeping up your incentive for walking can be a challenge at this time of year. We go back to routines driven by school schedules, the days are getting shorter, and the weather can get challenging.
Taking on a new activity with your daily walk can give it a spark. I recently found a wonderful book to identify plants and trees in the Pacific Northwest, something I have never thought much about.
When you are out walking, you can take pictures of various specimens... And then return home to see how many you can identify.
If I see a plant or a flower along my way that I really like, I love to photograph it so I can plan to include it in a special spot in my yard. Seeing it in a landscape is so much easier than looking at rows of plants in a nursery. Often times, I will take a photo with the surrounding plants to get a sense of completeness.
You can have a great time sharing your photos with children... And even think about making them photo cards to learn about different trees and schrub. Helping children become more aware of their environment is so important to developing good stewards of our planet.
There are so many butterflies, birds, bugs, special creatures and critters in nature, wheather you are walking in the woods, along the beach, along a rural road or even in the city.
This Audubon book is such a wonderful guide to identifying what you have seen! Or you might enjoy going to a great site to identify butterflies and moths...so much fun for children!
Every time you talk about the beauty of nature, or share a photo of a lovely flower, or photograph a field of wildflowers, you are capturing a moment in time that reminds us of what a beautiful place in which we live!
When you purposely head out to take pictures of the trees, the bushes, the wildlife, and the flowers, you will relax your mind and move your body without realizing you are also getting in your daily walk.
Capturing moments with you camera can open up a whole new world of adventure when you look back at the photos and try to identify what you have seen. You can also use your photos for background shots to label a narrative or a page in a book! I used Picassa to quickly make this "slide" to use in this narrative. For quick and easy edits, give it a try. The beauty of nature opens so many creative ideas!
Have fun exploring your world! We want you to find joy in your walks...and taking a camera with you will help push you along to better Health, Fitness, and Ceativity.
