Crushing on the Earth

I have a confession. I’ve formed a big fat crush on the Earth. I’m smitten with it.

Coralbark Japanese Maple in my garden showing off its fall color.

I mean, I’ve always enjoyed being outdoors, but recently it’s become apparent that if I don’t go outside and appreciate, marvel, wonder, ogle, and possibly even drool a little bit, over the gifts of nature, well, I start to feel a little off. I need nature, I love nature, and goshdarnit, it does a body and spirit GOOD! It also gives me many, many ideas for illustrations.

Prairie Restoration project at a park a few blocks from my house. Ohhh dreaminess.

Earlier today I was thinking giddily about the upcoming weekend, and what plans Doug and I might hatch for taking the kids for a romp in the wilderness. Please note, this would not include camping. I am not that rustic or brave. Give me a clean, cozy bed and a hot bath after my nature romp, thank you!! OK, so back to where we were... getting outside and soaking up nature. This article caught my attention when it was posted by the Tasha Tudor Museum on Facebook. (Oh, ladies, more about artist, gardener, super-low-key-super-star Tasha Tudor another day, she is one of my absolute idols, and she deserves a long, illustration-filled post dedicated to complete worship)...

10 Ways to Get Your Kids Outside in Nature and Why It Matters

Hope you have a few minutes to give that article a look, it’s surely something to get us all thinking.

Here’s my kid out in some of that aforementioned nature. In the process of launching a walnut up a hill.

Now, if you’d like to hang out here for a bit, you know my outdoor ogling in the wilderness (which could also be a name for my backyard at this time of year) is not complete without taking a few photos. I had fun flipping back through these from the last few months, as everything was so filled with color! We are very, very close in the Midwest to losing it all to winter in the next few weeks.

The following aren’t the most typical fall foliage shots—not that I don’t love to take those, too. But I’ve culled some of the lesser seen little fall jewels that ring my bell.

You thought you’d seen all of my Chinese Lantern/Winter Cherry photos? I took more... I couldn’t help it!

Luscious chartreuse gingko leaves developing a ruffly golden edge a few weeks ago.

Fallen persimmons looking so JUICY in my Mom and Steve’s brick path, resting in glorious moss.

Part of the prairie restoration, these are the seed pods of wild blue indigo that hopefully will scatter all over the place! Wish some would waft into my own yard.

Speaking of my own yard, here are some Toad Lily blooms that live there.

These gorgeous fruits of the Porcelain Berry Vine need to show up in a stamp set, do you agree?

Now that I’ve saturated your eyes with this cacophony of color (let’s ALL have a crush on the Earth!), here are lines from a poem I first saw referenced in Tasha Tudor’s A Time to Keep (there’s that Tasha again!!! LOVE HER):

No sun - no moon!

No morn - no noon -

No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member -

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds -

November!

Thomas Hood
British humorist and poet, 1799-1845

Aside from that somewhat negative view on November... I hope you all are enjoying a spectacular day, and hope you’ll join me in going outside!