Today's guilty confession from this nature-loving blog girl: I haven't really been outside for a week. There, I've said it. In my defense, the temperature in the mornings has been hovering between 4 and 8 degrees--Fahrenheit, not Celsius--with a bitter, bone-chilling, unrelenting wind. What I've learned from this run of really, really cold weather is that I'd make a terrible Canadian. Or Chicagoan, for that matter. I'm half-Swedish, so you'd think I could handle the cold by genetics alone, but my other half is Italian, so it all evens out.
Most of the snow is gone now and has been replaced with sheets of ice; therefore, simply walking around outside has become a challenge. When I took our books back to the library yesterday, I promptly fell flat on my back, feet whipped out from under me, on a sheet of black ice. I was somehow heart-warmed to hear a total stranger blurt out a blue streak of obscenities in raw, unadulterated concern for me as he rushed over, lickety-split, to help me up. "You're lucky that you're not an old lady--you would have been TOAST!" he gasped in relief after I assured him that I was fine.
Other than still walking the dog four times a day (probably setting all kinds of speed-walking records), I just haven't had the get-up-and-go to get out there. My blogger friend Debi at Go Explore Nature (whom I told you about in 10 Green "Gifts" That Won't Cost You a Dime) has been on a mission this month to post a suggestion every single day for getting outdoors with the kids. (Debi lives in L.A., mind you.) She has some very clever and creative suggestions, even for cold weather, and I plan on following many of them...as soon as the temperature inches up into the double digits again.
But until then, here's what I'm doing to appreciate nature...
As soon as I open the blinds, I watch the sun rising. It rises a little after 7 a.m. now---not such an ungodly hour. When I wake up the kids, they watch the sun rise with me. Peaceful.
As I eat my breakfast, after the kids have gone off to school, I watch the rather large herd of white-tailed deer wandering out of the woods for their own breakfasts, or cozying up along our stone wall in the back yard, shielding themselves from the wind. I saw this momma deer keeping a watchful eye on her fawn while pretending to relax. (I could relate to her.)
Another doe, pictured below, seems to have bitten into something that bit her back--a thorny bush, perhaps. See her tongue split in half and hanging out? Her tongue stayed out, flapping limply in the wind. Poor thing.
I am a firm believer in "a room with a view", so the desk in my office faces a window where I can watch the day unfolding outside. If I stared at a computer screen all day without these visual breaks of nature, I would not be a happy camper and I'm sure I'd need eyeglasses much thicker than the ones I own now.
When I do get outside for the dog-walks, I often hear Canadian Geese overhead. I marvel at their V formations and the way the leader honks to the others to guide them along, and they honk right back in response. Nice teamwork, guys!
When it's too cold to go out at night, we can still gaze at the stars from the warmth of our bedrooms. Tonight we found Orion, and my son re-read the story behind the constellation. My favorite constellation has always been the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, so that's the first thing I seek out. We also study the phases of the moon--my daughter is a bit obsessed. ("The moon! The mooooooooooon!" she shrieks whenever it's full.)
In the daytime, we can look out on our forest and see what's afoot or aflutter. We keep our two plexiglass bird-feeders well-stocked with seeds, so from the kitchen and master bath, we can watch who's flying in for a bite. (Below: Tufted Titmouse; Chickadee.)
It's helped us enormously that we bought an easy-to-use field guide for birds of New Jersey a few years back. Sure, we already knew the Blue Jays, Cardinals, and Chickadees, but now we also know what a Dark-eyed Junco is--turns out we have LOTS of those little cuties.
So, yes--we are indoors for now, but we are still finding our own ways to appreciate the Great Outdoors.
Food for thought: How are you interacting with nature this winter? What animals have you seen out foraging?
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© 2013 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com. All rights reserved. Text and photographs digitally fingerprinted. Site licensed by Creative Commons.
What a wonderful celebration of nature! Thank you so much for sharing your great ideas for connecting with nature indoors! It looks like you have a wonderful view out your windows (I'm so jealous!). And those bird feeders are awesome. I'm sending along wishes for some warm weather soon, nature friend!
Posted by: Debi | 01/25/2013 at 02:02 PM
Received this helpful comment below via email, and the writer (a friend of mine) gave me permission to reprint it here. (He's not talking about Sesame Street, by the way...)
I read today's lovely blog post. I'm a big bird fan and I highly recommend the iPad app iBird Pro. It is a comprehensive bird guide and also includes bird calls and other features you can't get in a book.
David J. Ranz
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 01/26/2013 at 11:12 AM
Wow. I'm so impressed by all the ways you are able to observe nature from the great indoors! It's pretty cold here in Boston too so the dog's not getting walked as much as she should! Stay warm.
Posted by: Lori Popkewitz Alper | 01/29/2013 at 11:14 AM
I don't envy your cold - although the snow does look very pretty.
I'm a lover of "a room with a view" too - and my desk always faces out a window.
Posted by: Tricia | 01/30/2013 at 03:58 PM