This series takes you through an entire year of our nature walks and is part of our non-profit project #Earthschooling365 at www.Earthschooling.org. The photos and posts in this series are all copyrighted. Please do not share or re-print them. Instead, share the link to this blog with your friends.
Along the way I will be sharing our favorite photo of the day, an inner work meditation for the day, photography assignment/tip for the day, nature walk theme for the day and a short verse for circle time (children) or meditation (teens/adults). We invite you to “walk along with us” this year, take some time to use the inner work meditation, be inspired by the nature walk theme of the day and perhaps even start a photo series of your own. To join the community on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram please tag your photos #Earthschooling365. To receive these inspirations in your e-mail inbox daily please subscribe to our blog alerts HERE. Don’t worry about missing days – you can join us as many days as you want this year!
Every day we will post one day. We will leave up 2 weeks of nature walks at a time. At the end of two weeks each nature walk will be transferred to the Lifetime Member’s Only Blog and will be accessible only to Lifetime Earthschooling Members. If you want to own the entire series without enrolling a an Earthschooling Lifetime Package Member you can purchase the entire series for only $35.00 (for the entire year!)
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You can start your journey any day. You do not have to follow our schedule. However, we will leave up the first week of the project all year so you can follow the steps to get started.
#Earthschooling365: Day Twenty-Five
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): Nature is amazing the way it balances. In the winter and early spring deer cannot be hidden by the foliage. Theoretically they are exposed to the world. However, nature makes up for this in two different ways – the tan coat of the deer blends in perfectly with the browns of the winter and early spring woods and, secondly, the crunchy leaves on the ground give deer a good warning when anyone approaches. Today let’s take some time to meditate on how that natural balance happens in our own lives. What “negative” things (like the deer being exposed) in your life are balanced by something else (like the camouflage)? To make this process smoother it is easier to focus on just one thing in your life and then move on to another if you have time. Don’t try to make a long list. Simply take time to consider the natural balance that already exists in your life.
Nature Walk Idea (Head): Many things in nature are protected by camouflage. During your walk today walk a bit more slowly and quietly and see if you can spot a hidden animal or insect. Often, when I spot a deer I notice that other people walking quickly or on bicycles do not see the deer. Yet others that walk by are not looking closely enough. As you can see in the photo I shared today the deer does blend quite well into her surroundings! You may think there are not many birds, insects or animals on your nature walk – but there might be more than you think! To explore these concepts more deeply with children try one of our Wildlife Education Lesson Blocks.
Photography Notes (Hands): We’ve talked a lot about bringing your subject into focus and bringing attention to it. However, sometimes a charming photo can be made by hiding your subject. My favorite kinds of hidden photos are photos where the subject and the background have the same pattern or color. Your assignment today is to take a photo where your subject blends into the background in some manner. It could be a green vine on a green fence, a brown deer in a pile of sticks, a rabbit in the dirt, or even a worm in the mud.
Verse: Oh Deer!
Copyright Kristie Burns
There was a brown deer of Japan
Who was so intensely tan
That when in repose
Beasts sat on her nose
Horribly thinking she was a divan
*These poems have been created for many purposes – from early childhood circle time verses to inspirational or expressive. They vary from day to day so you may find the way you use them or enjoy them also varies. If you would like to set these poems to music consider our tutorial: Creating Your Ow Waldorf Verses or Finding Your Inner Voice.
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