Naturalist's Corners

Last week, I was tidying up my desk, to get rid of piles of junk mail and other people's stuff, and to make the surface a more inviting place to work on my Master Naturalist homework (and some writing projects I need to get motivated on!).

As I started to load my field guides and various supplies into a large grocery sack, to keep them all together, but not on the surface of the desk, I realized I needed a better system than an ugly Hannaford bag, something that would be inviting and remind me that this is work I value. So instead of the sack, I moved out a small table that had become a clutter accumulator and replaced it with this little bookcase, which had been home to wooden animals that, quite frankly (but sadly), my kids have long outgrown.

On its shelves, I placed field guides, colored pencils, dissecting kit, collecting supplies, and M's microscope. Underneath, there is just enough room for my folders and books too large for the shelves.

As soon as I finished my little Naturalist's Corner, Z made a Naturalist's Corner of his own in the sun room.

I had brought that old oak desk up from the basement last month, after we moved the houseplants outside (he had been asking me to bring it up for months!). He added the wooden crate/bookshelf, a magnifying glass, his big amethyst, jars and boxes of specimens (mostly rocks and a few butterflies found in car grilles).

He then went right to work drawing a turkey feather. Since getting my kids involved is one of my top-secret ulterior motives in becoming a Master Naturalist, I think this was a good start!