Noticing nature glimmers whenever I can

It's still all a bit much but I'm still here, as is Mother Nature

Hello, I’m Rachel. I write about nature and creativity to encourage connection and wellbeing. This is one of my regular posts about noticing nature and finding connection. To read more - go to my homepage and click the noticing nature tab.

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Hello again, how did we get to July already? My body still thinks it’s May despite the thermometer definitely signalling high summer (I can’t handle anything over about 23°)

My last post, about 3 million months ago, started with the whole “I’m sorry, can’t believe it’s been so long, for x and y reason”. I talked about how I just needed to write, just keep it simple.

And then, I didn’t. And yes, life has continued to happen, a few more lemons have landed and I still haven’t made much lemonade.

I have consciously and positively added to my Jenga tower by enrolling on a Certificate in Nature-based therapy. And that has been a very good thing, especially when my new peers and I escaped last week for three wonderful days of experiencing and learning in the woods. I will be writing much more about it soon and what it means for my little business.

But for today, I want to share a couple of glimmers, those moments of joy and awe. Those noticings that make you stop what you are doing, even just for a moment. That bring so much to your day and leave you thinking about them long after.

And it doesn’t have to cost lots of money, you don’t have to go to a viral waterfall and join a long queue.

You just have to slow down enough to notice

My glimmers have mostly happened just metres from my back door. Brief forays into the garden for the washing, the compost bin, to water new plants.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll realise my love of butterflies, if there is one in my vicinity, my eye will be drawn to it. And there are often a few fluttering about my garden.

But while pegging out the washing, my brain decided I needed a break and wanted to stop and look at this one for a bit longer than I might usually. I don’t know why, I can’t remember what I was doing, or what state my brain was in, just that my brain (or butterfly using ESP) commanded me to stop and the butterfly graciously allowed me to take a photo.

At the time, my brain just thought, “Oh, small white, hello”. But no, my butterfly brain hadn’t kicked in fully. It was only just now getting the photo ready to put in here that I realised, it’s actually the rarer and (in my eyes) more delicate cousin - the Green-veined white.

But really, its name and classification didn’t matter in terms of its glimmer power. It caught my eye, it paused my day, it made me smile, and stuck around to provide joy for the rest of the day and beyond.

The second glimmer came in a break during an online webinar for my course. It may be a nature practitioner course, but talking about risk assessments, site surveys, and policies was making my brain melt.

So out I went into the garden. And something, I don’t know what, made me look down at the first plant pot I come to.

Given that she’s (and it is a she but I won’t go into how!) only a couple of cm long and perfectly camouflaged against the plant, I still don’t know how I spotted her, that’s the magic in nature noticing, the way that once you exercise that part of your brain, so much more of the world opens up.

She is a speckled bush cricket. I knew they were here, but so far had only been heard, not seen. It was just when I needed a glimmer, a dose of nature, that she appeared. A pause, a moment of appreciation, a link to memories of hearing the iconic cricket sound in summers past. A reminder that even in my little urban garden, there are so many more residents than just me and the neighbourhood cats.

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What nature glimmers have you seen this week? Can’t think of one? Maybe have a look at your camera roll - did something make you stop long enough to take a photo?

I invite you to let your eyes roam, let them notice what they are drawn to and allow the joy of seeing that make your day just a little bit better.

And if you haven’t already, please subscribe. All posts are free for all to read, but a paid subscription helps me build this little corner of nature and creativity.

Until next time,