Take a Deep Breath

and other advice from nature that is very, very wise

I’m so glad you’re here! Nature Moments is a place to explore connecting with nature, appreciating the wonders unfolding in the world all around us all the time. I hope my photography + stories will inspire you to be curious, be amazed, and then do it again!

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I step out my front door, mind racing ahead to the tasks at hand. Laundry, weeding, watering, harvesting. What’s for lunch? What’s for dinner? What was that one thing I wanted to do really quick? Right, fill the bird feeders…

And then I stop, the immeasurable force of a wisp of fragrance reminding me of something important. The hyacinths are blooming. Take a deep breath. Oh wow, yes, that does smell lovely. Maybe another deep breath. Maybe just one more with my eyes closed. Every task is better accomplished once you’ve stopped to take a deep breath.

But the hyacinths, you know, they look a bit untidy. They’re tucked into this little temporary garden bed while many things are in transition and under construction. It’s a little weedy, it’s a little muddy, it’s a little patchy and disorderly. But if I look gently…

It’s all light and life, all spring energy and new starts, all soft beauty and warm glow and simple radiant joy. If I look gently, my heart sees more clearly.

The Scarlet Tanager perches in the highest branches of the apple tree, surrounded by rosy spring buds, and floats his song over the horizon. Singing is essential for him. It takes absolute priority. He finishes one song, chooses a new branch, and launches into the next. His encores have encores. And he’s not finished until he’s belted out every single note stored up in his tiny, vibrant spirit.

And he’s absolutely right! Sometimes, I forget to sing. I’m just here and there and this and that and who has time, really? But then there’s that rare moment when I’m alone (usually in the car), and I sing, and I understand how right he is. Singing is heart-deep essential.

“Choose hope.”

This is a Stargazer Lily bud. It’s the very first one nosing its gentle way into the spring air, and it is an ambassador of hope!

When we first moved onto the homestead, most of the choices we made and the projects we tackled were necessarily practical and utilitarian in nature. But we also planted Stargazer Lilies, right away, specifically to weave their beauty and fragrance into our working and living from the very beginning. And they grew, and were beautiful, and smelled amazing, and we enjoyed them and looked forward to them every year.

They take a bit of care, because they’re susceptible to a certain lily beetle, but it was easy to manage as we passed by them every day. But then, we went to Texas to care for my mom. While we were gone, the lilies grew, and we weren’t here to tend them.

When we returned, only a few bare stalks remained to mark their presence. Their tops had been sharply removed by deer, so they had never bloomed. Their leaves had been entirely devoured by beetles. It seemed likely to be a total loss.

It’s hard to know, with a plant, when circumstances pass the tipping point. Lilies store an entire year’s worth of energy in a bulb over the winter, which they use to put out the next season’s growth in the spring. How could a little lily survive without any leaves left to send energy to its bulbs?

But just in case, I dug up the bulbs and moved them to a small patch of garden, right near the front door, where they would be out of the way of upcoming construction, and I would be able to keep an eye on them in the spring. I decided I would rather hope for the best than just give up.

And against all odds, here they come! Reminding me that no matter how impossible the view, hope is always a good choice.

And then there is this final, gentle reminder from the very busiest of bees (which is, perhaps, a bit pointed…)

“Get back to work!”

🤣

Sit with nature,

and let nature sit with you.

When all you can do is be,

that's enough.

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