nature study

A 2019 Outdoor Challenge for the Non-Outdoorsy

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I’ve never actually finished a challenge before that I remember (ohai, ADHD), but I keep starting them anyway. Why’s that? Ok, yes, ADHD makes me ever hopeful that the future will be different. But also, even if I don’t finish a challenge, I still did a lot more than I would have without a challenge.

In that spirit, I saw a post on Facebook about the 1,000 Hours Outside challenge. Now I’m not crazy enough to think that I’m going to get 1,000 hours outside from this pretty pathetic starting place. But I can shoot for 500 hours, which is also still a very ambitious goal for me, almost 1.5 hours outside a day.

Honestly, I thought about aiming for 250, less than 1 hour a day. In fact, that’s how I structure my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I know I read a lot of books, but I’m not very competitive. I get my happy hit of dopamine every time I see that my Challenge is “complete!” even if it’s complete in June (which it usually is). I purposely set my goal very low based on my prior reading habits because who knows what unexpected life event might happen and set me off course? I would feel bad about myself if I had to lower the number, and I know I’m made just as happy by the challenge being complete “early.” In fact, I might be more happy because I love seeing things checked off and done, and I might have that nagging feeling of incompleteness if I had to keep chugging away at my challenge until November or December. I love seeing my progress as more than 100%. It also helps that I know my “low” number is a very high number for the average American: 100 books a year. Even my low goal is respectable and even praiseworthy, which helps. Everything beyond that is gravy, even though internally I know I’m “really” expecting to read around 230 books. But I don’t have to feel that pressure if I don’t want to, you know what I mean?

So I thought really hard about setting my goal for 250 hours. It felt doable. But my progress isn’t being publicly shown anywhere (as far as I can tell – in fact, I’m not sure how I’ll track the total myself), so the internal goal is really the only one I’m dealing with. So I decided to aim for 500. Shoot for the moon and you’ll at least land in the stars, right? That’s not shooting for the moon for many people, but from my perspective that feels like the moon! If I do really well, then I can reassess my goals in the summer.

I’m tracking my hours the technological way because ADHD sometimes makes time feel amorphous, and I can easily lose track of time outside. A commenter recommended using the MapMy Walk app, and that’s been working very well for me. One button to start, then end it, and it’s all saved for me.

That’s not an amazing record, but you know what? It’s a lot more than I was doing before. I hate the cold, and we’re sick yet again. I’m particularly proud of the walk around the block because we were running errands when my tire suddenly lost air and we needed to return home (and go to the mechanic the next day). I parked the car, and said, “Ya know what? Let’s take a walk around the block even though it’s nearly dark (yay 5pm in winter).” We did. Just four right turns walking on the sidewalk, less than 13 minutes. In my book, that was a major victory. My natural response was to say, “should we play upstairs or downstairs?” and instead, I said, “let’s take a walk.” Talk about neuroplasticity and changing habitual thought patterns! It can be done.

10 hours a week feels impossible right now in mid-winter, but I know I’ll make up some of those hours in the spring, summer, and fall. I don’t really look at this as a daily goal as much as the yearly goal. Right now, I can’t even see it as a daily or monthly goal, but maybe that’ll feel more natural as I develop different habits. Right now, it’s just looking for the next 5 minutes toward my goal. Honestly, it’s really “let’s just put on our coats.”

Today, I again challenged my habitual thought patterns. The baby got up from her nap, and I said, “you know what? Let’s go outside instead of playing inside until lunch.” It was cold, very cold. But we went outside. And we stayed out there as long as I could muster, and no one was as surprised as me to discover that we’d been outside over 40 minutes!

My goal had just been “get dressed and go out that door.” Everything else was gravy.

It was “just” our back yard. And “just” 40 minutes, about half my so-called “daily” goal. And I “just” walked around, picking up dog poop (the glamour people don’t usually post on social media).

So maybe you don’t think you’re ready for 1,000 Hours Outside. I’m not. But maybe you’re ready to do something more than you’re doing now. What would that look like? What’s the first step you can take today toward that goal?

You can even phrase it as a value rather than a goal, especially if you have a bad track record with goals like I do. Having unstructured outdoor time is something I value. I want to live true to my values, so what can I do to get outside that door today? Even if that means 15 minutes getting everyone dressed and 5 minutes in the back yard. That’s a win. Really. A big win! Or even my prior goal (and kind of still a goal today, honestly): walking out the door. Even if it is to the car for an errand, or just walking to the mailbox on particularly challenging days.

Book Review: Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Guide to Nature on Long Island by John Turner

What a great find that I can’t believe I didn’t find before! My local chapter of the Sierra Club has a newsletter, and one month, there was a book review for this book, Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Guide to Nature on Long Island by John Turner. I was sold on trying it as soon as I saw the title!

A seasonal nature guide, tailored to my immediate location? How much better could it get?? Sometimes taking on a Charlotte Mason-style approach to nature is completely overwhelming for a newbie like me, but having a book like this can make it so easy.

Taking the advice in the book is a different question. So many good intentions, so few followed-through this summer. Buuuuuuuut. I did more than I have ever done before. I noticed more because I knew more to look for. And we did try a couple of things. It also built some of that foundational knowledge that it’s going to take me years to actually build into a large nature knowledge. Little by little wins the race.

Each chapter focused on a different animal or plant or phenomenon that was relevant to a particular season. This topical-within-the-season approach was very approachable and more interesting than a more scattershot “these are tidbits about everything you might find in this season” approach would be. I came away from each chapter feeling like I’d had a Charlotte Mason-style object lesson. Further, it gave me an overview of the geography of Long Island, the different ecosystems available, and some of the strengths of various parks and nature preserves. Most people wouldn’t guess it, but Long Island is chock full of nature. I find it overwhelming. Over 60 state parks, from what I remember, so where should I even start?! A book like this helps narrow the list.

This is a book I plan to revisit multiple times. In fact, I think I’ll place it on hold at the library right now so I can make some goals for this winter, especially since I already feel overwhelmed by winter and “what can we do??” Knowing me, I’m eventually going to buy this book.

Is there a book like this tailored to your immediate region within your state? If so, does your library carry it? If not, you can ask them to! My library keeps an anonymous suggestion box right beside the reference desk. Make good use of the suggestion box! I suspect few people do, so anyone who makes the effort is already far more likely to get what they ask for!

A Poem for the Outdoors

Here is a beautiful poem for those of you who struggle with getting outdoors like I do.

“The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver

I especially like the last two lines:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

An Excellent Art and Nature Resource from the Audubon Society

I woke up to an excellent surprise email this morning: the Audubon Society has made available 435 high resolution prints of bird prints from The Birds of America by John James Audubon for free! For the mere “price” of a newsletter signup, you can create your own collection of beautiful, accurate, and detailed prints for your family.

(You can find hardcover, paperback, and kindle versions of The Birds of America here. It seems there have been many printings over the years, but this one seemed the most available and affordable. For a modern book, you should try field guides from National Geographic, the Audubon Society, Sibley, and Peterson’s. They usually come in different versions for the Eastern/Central and Western US. I really enjoyed the Nat Geo Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America.)

I chose birds that sounded familiar to me, even though I wasn’t always sure which variety of the species is the one I know. I’m still very much an amateur, but looking through these prints made me realize how much I’ve learned over the last year! I’ve only read four books and manned a bird feeder for one winter. Only one book included birds local to my area (Long Island), and it wasn’t even a bird-specific book. Yet I recognized many of the birds from my feeder and from my reading. Except the sparrows. I still can’t figure out which kind of sparrows they are. All the small brown birds are hard for me to differentiate at this stage.

So how might you use these prints? The only limit is your imagination, honestly.

An artist study of Audubon as an artist, not focusing on the birds themselves, but more on his technique and style
Art for your home, to bring a little nature indoors
Nature study, specifically bird identification
Attention training! Compare two plovers or owls or puffins or ducks… what’s different? What’s similar?

How else would you use them? Have a favorite print? Personally, I really like the flamingo because no matter how many times I’ve seen them in real life, I refuse to believe they’re real creatures. Surely they only live in places like Wonderland!

The Birds of America | The Audubon Society

Short Biography of John James Audubon | The Audubon Society

Sidenote, while researching this, I found out there’s a Birds of America coloring book! Ummm yes please.

You Represent Public Opinion to Your Child

Charlotte Mason writes about “the force of public opinion in the home” in reference to the creepy-crawlies that make me cringe:

Some children are born naturalists, with a bent inherited, perhaps, from an unknown ancestor; but every child has a natural interest in the living things about him which it is the business of his parents to encourage; for, but few children are equal to holding their own in the face of public opinion; and if they see that the things which interest them are indifferent or disgusting to you, their pleasure in them vanishes, and that chapter in the book of Nature is closed to them. (Vol. 1, p58)

She is absolutely right, and I try to keep this passage front of mind every time we’re outside.

She continues with the story of a particular naturalist:

It is likely that the Natural History of Selborne would never have been written had it not been that the naturalist’s father used to take his boys on daily foraging expeditions, when not a moving or growing thing, not a pebble nor a boulder within miles of Selborne, escaped their eager examination. Audubon, the American ornithologist, is another instance of the effect of this kind of early training. “When I had hardly learned to walk,” he says, “and to articulate those first words always so endearing to parents, the productions of Nature that lay spread all around were constantly pointed out to me . . . My father generally accompanied my steps, procured birds and flowers for me, and pointed out the elegant movements of the former, the beauty and softness of their plumage, the manifestations of their pleasure, or their sense of danger, and the always perfect forms and splendid attire of the latter. He would speak of the departure and return of the birds with the season, describe their haunts, and, more wonderful than all, their change of livery, thus exciting me to study them, and to raise my mind towards their great Creator.” (Vol. 1, p58-59)

I distinctly remember being a “miniature naturalist” as a kid, not afraid of any creepy crawlies (except for a memorable encounter with a scorpion). But at some point, that changed. When did I become afraid of nature? When did I start withdrawing in disgust from a worm? I can’t answer that, but I would bet it had a lot to do with the reactions of adults around me and what they valued instead (the indoors).

So I do my best to breathe deeply and smile when we encounter bugs and worms outside. I purposely point out to the toddler any bugs I notice so we can observe them. I’m not perfect, and I’m still stiff about it, and I still jump. But I’m working on it. It can be done. I loved these things once, and I intellectually know they’re nothing to be afraid of, so surely I can get back to that state again with the help of some enthusiastic companions?

Placing a worm on my chair and proclaiming she'd found a "needle." — Placing a worm on my chair and proclaiming she’d found a “needle.”

Book Review: The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow

I own few children’s books as pretty as The Seashore Book.

It’s full of beautiful, realistic paintings (if very dated to the early 90s in the few pictures with people).

This first page of the book sets the story: the book is told in the form of a mother telling her child a story about visiting the seashore, where her son is the main character. It’s a calming, quiet story perfect for bedtime or during the baby’s nap.

Amazon tells me that the book was recently re-released last year (2017), and it looks like they re-did some of the pictures in a brighter style and changed the formatting a bit. From just a glimpse of the sample pages on Amazon, I actually prefer the original 1994 edition. Unfortunately, the lowest price for that version on Amazon as of today is $40 (new; used copies as low as $5.50). Compared to $14 for the new version, no contest, I’d buy the new one. However, this older book is a great candidate to look for at library used book sales, library discard sales, and other used book sources. I found it for $4! And it was in person, so no shipping!

A side benefit of the book I didn’t expect: I don’t know how to tell stories. I much prefer reading them aloud. This book is a great middle ground because by reading the book, I learn one way to tell a story and build some “muscle memory” of phrasing, so to speak.

Because we often visit the beach, I prioritize finding naturalist-style books about the ocean and beach, and this one is excellent. Highly, highly recommend The Seashore Book!

Keeping It Real

Today I’d already had three major temper tantrums. I was tired, I was cold, and I just wanted to listen to podcasts in peace (so I can learn about being a good mom and homeschooler instead of actually doing it) while my toddler played in the yard. But I listened to CM, knew what I “ought” to do, sucked it up, and pulled out the grass encroaching in the garden I’ve been ignoring… and it turned into an impromptu introduction to roots and how plants eat.

Grass with roots and dirt

Did she “get” it? At just over 2 years old, probably not. But now she knows the word roots, might recognize them again in the future, might recognize them on a different plant. Maybe she made a warm and fuzzy connection to the idea of nature and plants and gardens. Maybe she just enjoyed playing in dirt with her Ima. These are all great goals for a toddler.

Trust the process. It works even when I’m not in a good place. Just get outside. Just take a little step and look for something positive to do. Even if it’s three steps back and one step forward, that’s ok. End the day moving in the right direction and on a good note, if at all possible.

Parenting #ProTip I learned from a baby book at some point: the outdoors is like a “reset” button for a crying child. Whenever there’s a tantrum or inconsolable crying, we step out on the back porch, and within a few minutes, they usually stop. They might start up again when we come back inside, but usually not. Usually we’ve changed the tenor of the moment and can start fresh. I always forget this tip when I’m at the end of my rope, but with enough “practice,” I’m beginning to remember. Two kids under two gives me a lot of practice.