Fall Nature Journaling Weekend

I had the great good fortune to be invited to teach nature journaling up in the wilds of Maine a couple of weeks ago.



There was a smallish turnout—I guess I should go into teaching how to file your taxes or some other universally desired skill, but what fun would that be?


And, to be honest, small groups are my favorite, where each person can work at his/her own pace, and we all get to know each other so well, even in the course of a few hours.



The weekend started Friday evening and went through Sunday morning—not quite three days, but enough time to luxuriate in attention, observation, detail.

We practiced the basics of observing and drawing.



We went on slow hikes, noting each thing of significance as we went along.

We closed our eyes to use our other senses, and wrote about what we noticed, felt, remembered, and wondered.

It was a pretty terrific way to spend a fall weekend in Maine.

Seah Kayaking and Nature Journaling

The very first thing I did the first time I came to Maine was go on a five-day sea kayaking trip. I went on another a year later and took kayaks out for shorter adventures during my two years in college on the coast. I bought a used ("tupperware") boat many long years ago, but only had it out on the ocean once or twice before I had kids and my kayak became a dust- and spider-collecter. I've gone out sea kayaking maybe twice since we had kids (one of those trips is chronicled here). And I didn't know how much I missed paddling, that salty film on my skin, even lugging heavy boats over mudflats.



Then I had the great good fortune to have been invited to teach a nature journaling workshop for Northstar Adventures and I spent last Saturday paddling with a small group of people in beautiful Penobscot Bay, from Castine Harbor to a pair of islands in Brooksville.

There we explored the shore, did a variety of writing and drawing exercises, and ate a delicious lunch (some of our group even took a swim in the cold water).



It was a pretty divine day and I was so happy to be back out on salt water (and wondering why the hell we live in Maine but inland). With each workshop, freelance gig, and piece of writing sold, I feel one tiny step closer to my career goals (which I once articulated as, "Go canoeing and write about it.") Yet, as we speak, I'm sending out resumes, because the demands of three teenage kids (all of whom have stomachs, feet, and teeth, three expensive body parts), a house whose appliances and fixtures are all exactly 16 years old and therefore all meeting their demise at once, and two 20+-year-old cars mean that the necessity for "real job" is becoming unavoidable. Which means that going canoeing and writing about it will once again become a weekend/evening/lunchbreak/interstitial pursuit. I won't say I'm not sad about that.

But in the meantime, if you want to join me for a THREE DAY!!! nature journaling workshop, I'll be teaching at Little Lyford Lodge in the Greenville area for the Appalachian Mountain Club. See here for details.

Fall Nature Journaling Workshops

After a little summer break from teaching, I've got a great lineup of workshops coming up this fall, ranging from an hour to a whole weekend. There's something for everyone in the lineup. If you find yourself in Maine this autum, I hope you'll join me for a workshop!



Next Saturday, September 8, I'll be the visiting artist for an Explorations in Art: Sea Kayaking and Nature Journaling adventure out of Castine, Maine. (I know the course description says Cloe Chunn will be teaching, but I'm pinch-hitting, after something else came up for her.)

The first weekend in October, I'll be teaching a three-day Nature Journaling Workshop at Little Lyford Lodge in the Moosehead region.

And the following weekend, I'm leading a one-hour (free!) nature journaling walk at Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary in Lewiston, Maine for the Stanton Bird Club. There's nothing on their website yet, but the walk will take place on Sunday October 14 from 1-2 p.m.

Nature Writing and Journaling Workshops

I've had a little tab for "Nature Writing Workshops" over on my sidebar there for a while now, but up until recently it held only a generic description of the kinds of workshops I can offer to local nature centers and nonprofits. Now I've finally got some actual classes scheduled and listed on that page. They're either free or very inexpensive and if you're local it would be fun to see you at one of them.

The upcoming classes are:

Family Nature Journaling ~ November 8, 2015
Pettengill Farm, Freeport

Nature Writing ~ November 15, 2015
Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson 

The Winter Nature Journal ~ December 6, 2015
Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson 

Nature Journaling ~ January 10, 2016
Harlow Art Gallery, Hallowell

I will also be offering a six-week nature writing class at Viles Arboretum in Augusta this winter. I'll post details on the Nature Writing page when registration opens up.