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| Hannah, age 2, considering a Blue Dick flower |
"What species is that?" is one of the first questions many people ask of nature. Identifying plants or animals is challenging and fun. Species names are useful for communicating with other people, but they can also be a trap. Many birders will stop looking once they have identified a bird. The name is not the thing. Identifying a species is only the tip of the iceberg of inquiry. It is not necessary to know something's name to ask an interesting question or make a discovery about it. Ask as many questions as you can, and don't worry if an answer seems beyond your reach at first. The process of asking questions in and of itself is important.
- John Muir Laws, The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling
I took a walk with my mom and the kids a couple days ago and I tried to keep this quote firmly in mind as we oohed and ahhed over all the spectacular wildflowers, looking up the species, noting them in a list on my phone, and flagging them in our wildflower book. I tried to help us all linger a little longer, looking at the shape of a flower here, the growing conditions there, tracing the twining snake lily from ground to tip and marveling over the spectacular length of the stem, trying to look at each flower and know the name, but also to spend at least a few moments considering something else about it as well.
And largely thanks to my mom, we navigated the challenges of walking a trail with five children, a stroller, and a 100+ foot drop just off the side of the trail into a river gorge very well. We looked, examined, considered, and kept the four and two year olds from falling over the edge all at the same time.
And I was pleased that as I copied my list of our finds into my nature journal that evening, I could picture the flowers as I noted them. They were still distinct flowers in my mind, not just a list of names.
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| The intricate pod of the Lace Pod is tiny - each pod is only the diameter of a pencil eraser. |
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| Gratuitous kid picture - Hannah insisted on holding Nathan's hand the whole way back. These are the moments I hope to hold in my mind forever. |
I took a walk with my mom and the kids a couple days ago and I tried to keep this quote firmly in mind as we oohed and ahhed over all the spectacular wildflowers, looking up the species, noting them in a list on my phone, and flagging them in our wildflower book. I tried to help us all linger a little longer, looking at the shape of a flower here, the growing conditions there, tracing the twining snake lily from ground to tip and marveling over the spectacular length of the stem, trying to look at each flower and know the name, but also to spend at least a few moments considering something else about it as well. 
That quote from Laws is fantastic! Sharing it with my kids. They often get into that mindset--that once we know what it is, they can stop looking. I find his approach so encouraging!
ReplyDeleteAnd it looks like your list and our recent ones have a lot of crossover! And a lot of different ones too. :)
Me too! I've bought a number of how to nature journal books over the years and his is by far the best.
DeleteI was thinking it would be so fun to do that walk with you and your kids - we'd have such a good time comparing and learning new flowers. Not sure how we would keep from losing any kids over the side of the trail into the Yuba though...
We will hopefully be hunting down some wildflowers together in two short weeks! Although I'm not sure whether to be excited or sad that we won't have the kids along to share the experience with. (I'm leaning toward excited, though. ;))
ReplyDeleteI am definitely leaning towards excited! :-)
DeleteOH, my heart sings to see your pictures! I'm not sure we have ever discussed the fact that my husband and I grew up in Placerville. We've lived in TN for almost 11 years now, but do we miss home. We'll have to meet up on my next trip home for a visit. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that! Yes, that would be wonderful. You would have absolutely loved this walk, it was this region in full spring glory.
DeleteI love the quote from Laws!I'm in awe of your and your mom's skills at wrangling that many children near a hundred-foot drop - my heart was in my throat just contemplating it......
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erin! I am really enjoying this new book by Laws. He is so inspiring and encouraging. Thankfully it really is just my 4 yo and 2 yo that we have to worry about with the trail, and with one adult for each young one and helpful older siblings to help out too, it wasn't too bad. But it isn't a trail I will do by myself until my youngest is a few years older!
DeleteLovely photos! I used to worry about snakes but we made so much noise we only ever saw one on an actual bush walk. So good to have your mum around to help. I relaxed a lot more when I had older who helped look after the younger ones - I just had to wait a few years for that to happen though.
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