#Earthschooling365: Day Eighty-One
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): On today’s walk I saw a mother robin feeding her babies. It was hard to take photos since she had done such a good job of protecting them among the pine leaves but I was persistent. In the high res version of the photo with the single baby below the baby is sharply in focus and asking for food. However, I had to face many disappointments as well (see the photo on the left). When viewed small it appears to be OK but all of the babies are actually out of focus. The tree and nest are in focus instead. What motivated me was trying to get a picture of the mama feeding her babies. However, during the entire 40 minutes I stood there I also enjoyed the process. I enjoyed watching the mother pick just the right angle to swoop into the tree and I enjoyed watching the fluffy babies beg for food and how they would suddenly become active when she was within about ten feet of them. This is often the case with life as well. We need to keep trying to reach our goals. Before we reach our goal we will most likely suffer a few disappointments. But if we can learn to enjoy the journey as well the disappointments can transform. The photo of the mama feeding the three babies may have been a disappointment to me as a photographer. But as a person watching beauty unfold in nature it was a magical moment I will always have captured on film.
Nature Walk Idea (Head): What animals make their homes in evergreen trees? Almost every place on earth has some sort of evergreen trees. What animals, birds or bugs live in your evergreen trees? Why do you think they chose this kind of tree? Mama robin chose this tree for many reasons. One reason is that it provides plenty of cover – even in early spring when the leaves may not have come out on all the trees. Another reason is that it is prickly and difficult to climb for many predators so snakes and other animals cannot get to her babies. Take some time to explore a few of the evergreen trees on your nature walk today? What life to they hold?
Photography Notes (Hands): Today’s assignment is to take at least a half hour to photograph a person, pet, bird, animal or other activity. Challenge yourself during this half hour to try different framing methods, different techniques, different lighting, focus and much more. See what you can accomplish by really focusing on one photo for a length of time. If you start with a goal this can make your assignment more enjoyable and more effective. Do you want to capture a robin right as it pulls a worm out of the ground? A rabbit right as he starts to hop? A child right as she jumps off the swing?
Verse: Predator of the Woods
Copyright Kristie Burns
She cocks her head
Hidden in plain sight
Sharp ears can hear
Through mud and height
Meticulous hunter
Carefully on the prowl
Calculated final jabs
More deadly than an owl
Greedy carnivore consuming
14 feet of prey each day
Unaware their sudden fate
Succumb to her deadly play
Then as good hunters do
She carries home a feast
And feeds it to her children
Who is this terrifying beast?
Answer: The Robin
*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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What is #Earthschooling365?
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!
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Waldorf homeschool curriculum
Waldorf inner work
Free photography lesson
Free Waldorf verse
Waldorf nature table
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