Be Curious and Wonder
An introduction, backyard bird count, and practices for a curious life
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.”
― Stephen Hawking
Welcome to “A Curious Nature”, my weekly newsletter to help us nurture a more curious life through nature and creativity. I hope you enjoy the spotlight on what I’m currently reading, the “just four minutes” exercise, and journaling prompt that follows.
Each week I plan to include an essay in this space on nature, writing, creative practices, and sometimes the sweet spot where those subjects converge. And if you’ve visited my About page, then you’ll expect some stories about black vultures too!
To kick us off, I thought I’d revisit and update a blog post from 2018. You can read the original post here if you like. Thanks for being here…enjoy!
How 15 Minutes Can Help Protect Backyard Birds
When I moved to my 'treehouse' more than two years ago, I learned quickly that a habitat of animals and birds surrounded me. And this forest was all theirs. I just happened to have a home in the middle of it.
I've learned many of their calls and behavior patterns just from regular observation. Fill a feeder near a window, grab a cup of coffee, and they will offer something new every day.
The white-breasted nuthatch walks down trees, circling trunks in search of insects. Goldfinches hover together in large groups at the feeders, often chasing off other birds twice their size. Their winter colors are dull compared to the bright plumage typical of the spring breeding season.
The male cardinal's sharp 'chip chip chip' is more demanding than the female's. Some couples even have unique melodies to communicate about nest building and meals. I've watched a male feed five demanding fledglings at my feeder, their incessant chirps silenced the moment dad flew away.
And my favorite - the call that can wake me from a sound sleep - the 'who cooks for you, who cooks for you all' of the barred owl. Barred owls mate for life and are known to inhabit the same territory - often less than six square miles - for their lifetime. As a spirit animal, barred owls represent wisdom in silence, the opportunity to observe and learn, and the chance to use your voice for its greatest purpose.
I am a far cry from being an ornithologist, but moment by moment, with the help of field guides and All About Birds, I've observed and learned. That learning helps me appreciate the unique role each species plays in the larger system of a healthy forest and a thriving ecological landscape.
Did you know that just 15 minutes a day for a few days each February can help provide essential data for scientists around the world to understand bird populations, migration patterns, and changes over time? It’s called the Great Backyard Bird Count and in just 15 minutes you can “connect to birds, to nature, and with each other.”
Will you join me, and people around the world, on February 16-19, 2024?
Currently Reading
John Muir. Henry David Thoreau. Rachel Carson. These are all prominent names in the world of environmentalism and naturalist writers. But have you heard of Edwin Way Teale? He was the first American to win the Pulitzer Prize for nature writing, an award he received in 1966.
I first discovered his work in a local used bookstore where I found A Walk Through the Year. It was the perfect re-entry to books for my challenged attention span in these days of doom-scrolling and click-bait. Filled with dated short passages, the pages walk the reader through daily observations of the author’s New England homestead.
Then I discovered his Seasons series: Wandering Through Winter, North With the Spring, Journey Into Summer, and Autumn Across America. Between 1947 and 1962, Teale and his wife Nellie traveled nearly 100,000 miles by car, crisscrossing the United States and documenting their observations.
Wandering Through Winter was the last book he wrote in the series, and this is where I began my 2024 reading of these four volumes. I look forward to sharing more about each book through the seasons of this year. And hope you may join me in reading along.
To learn more about the author, visit the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of Connecticut. On February 1, 2024, The Edwin Way Teale Lecture Series will present “When is a stream a stream?”, available for streaming online.
Just four minutes…
Give yourself four minutes to appreciate something about your home. It could be photos or art on the walls…enjoy the gallery that surrounds you. Or maybe a neglected bookcase…shop the titles you chose and forgot about. Maybe it’s your windows and the view. What is it for you?
Why four minutes? It isn’t too much time or too little; it’s just right. And enough time that it’s a decision. So set your phone’s alarm or a kitchen timer and have fun!
Journaling prompt…
Make a list of words you love. Set a timer for two minutes and write without stopping.
Then choose one word and describe why you listed it.
If you enjoyed this week’s edition of “A Curious Nature”, I hope you may choose to subscribe, drop your thoughts below, or share with a friend. Thank you!
I love everything about this.