Bex Hall

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nature journal

Another month in the book

May, chapter 5 of 12

May Phenology Wheel and Nature Journal

Because the last four days of the month were stormy and unseasonably cool, I am inclined to dub the entire month the same, but I look at the wheel and there only nine days of inclement weather. Nine days does not an entire month make.

This was the second of two super full moons this calendar year and it did not disappoint. Super moon means it’s at perigee, or at its closest point to the earth. It was bright and big and made four in the morning seem like an odd sort of daylight. Kind of silver tone.

Nature Journal

The flowers, birds, mayflies, bugs, and bats are in abundance after what seems like a long absence. The scent of honeysuckle, wisteria, and lilacs perfume the sometimes balmy air.

I learned about a new flower called the Star of Bethlehem. It bloomed on our river lot in the dappled shade near the bank. The iris from my daughter’s house in Tennessee is in its third year and flourishing.

This is the fifth month I’ve recorded what is happening in the natural world around me and I’ve noticed some positive shifts. 

It no longer bothers me to stop what I’m doing to watch the birds or butterflies. I feel more confident drawing freehand in pen. There’s a sweet anticipation of discovery to each new day.

One of the best side benefits I’ve realized from this project though is the reinforcement of the belief I have it in me to see something through. As of today, June 4th, I have spent 155 days tending a journal by hand.

As each month goes by, the book grows and so do I.

Phenology Wheel

Set a timer, beat procrastination

Nature journal finally caught up

April 2021 Nature Journal

“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”

— Napoleon Hill

It’s the middle of May and I’m just now finished with April’s phenology wheel and nature journal page. I kept putting it off because with each day that passed, the job got bigger. Would take more time. Further and further behind and the inner critic screamed “YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST QUIT!”

I sat with the resistance for a few days and searched for the reason why I wasn’t making the time to paint. 1. I’m “supposed” to be writing, and 2. I know if I start, I won’t want to stop.

Conundrum.

I set a timer for 20 minutes and painted. An hour or so later, it was done. And I don’t remember hitting stop on the alarm.

Now I’m free to write. 

If you’re struggling with juggling and tending to a project, try setting a timer and work on one thing.

Tick tock!

April Monthly
April 2021 Phenology Wheel
April 2021 Nature Journal

Every end brings a new beginning

We are never finished

March Phenology Wheel

“Creativity is a matter of faith, and “faith without works is dead.” We reach an end only to find it is a beginning. We draw a conclusion only to find it poses a question. We are never finished.”

— Julia Cameron

The phenology wheel project never feels fully finished but I keep faith if I show up nearly every day to add a little something, it adds up to a bigger something. At the end of each month, there’s a collection of some data, some art, some thoughts. Then it’s time to turn the page and begin again.

What if I apply this mindset to the practice of all my art or writing or any creative project?

We are never finished.

Onward, friends.

Day 61/100

To see February’s phenology wheel, visit here.

The Phenology Wheel Project evolves

It’s about the process, not the product

February Phenology Wheel

On January 26th, I wrote about the phenology wheel and how Rebecca Morris had inspired me to create my own. The post explains a phenology wheel is simply a visual representation of what is happening month by month in the natural world around you.

It was a clumsy start in January. I would forget to record a day’s temperatures and weather and have to scramble for old information. It was mid-month before I began, so half the entries were blank. I considered adding the first part of February so I’d have more entries, but then what would February’s wheel look like missing the first five days? I began to dread showing up to the journal.

My heart wasn’t in it. 

That was a clumsy attempt

Before I knew it, the month was over and I hadn’t drawn anything else. I had noticed many things—squirrels, a rabbit, a hawk—but there was a disconnect between my eyes and fingers. And a lot of procrastination.

In the Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron speaks about procrastination as fear. “Fear is what blocks an artist. The fear of not being good enough. The fear of not finishing. The fear of failure and of success. The fear of beginning at all.”

She goes on to write, “There is only one cure for fear. That cure is love. Use love for your artist to cure its fear.”

Since I consider February to be the month of love, I took what she wrote to heart and look what happened.

February Phenology Wheel and Nature Page

The art just poured out onto the pages. It was easier when I loved my inner artist instead of yelling at her for smudges and crooked lines. There was joy in the process instead of worry about the end result.

“Focused on process, our creative life retains a sense of adventure. Focused on product, the same creative life can feel foolish or barren. We inherit the obsession with product and the idea that art produces finished product from our consumer-oriented society.” 

—Julia Cameron

We will do well to remember art is a process and it’s supposed to be fun. When there’s play and joy, you’re free to be yourself and share that on the page, and then ultimately with others.

Go create something, anything! Pick up that paintbrush, that pen, or that camera.

Go.

Outback and Over Yonder
Weird words and books I’m reading
February P wheel

What’s a phenology wheel and do I really need one?

Last year I kept noticing what are called phenology wheels pop up in my social media feeds. I learned they’re simply a visual representation of what is happening month by month in the natural world around you.

Every one of them is beautiful but I particularly enjoyed the one fellow artist, Rebecca Morris created. I watched it from its stark beginning to the end when it became what you see here. A beautiful and glorious representation of flora and fauna in her beloved State of California.

She is someone who inspires me. You can follow her on Instagram and be inspired too.

“Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fighting with my desire to have a completed project right now, I was hesitant to show you how bare the page, but here it is. Imperfect and incomplete. That’s the thing with a year long project. It takes a year to get it done. And you have to start somewhere.

One of the aspects of a phenology wheel that appeals to me is the flexibility. You can track and record whatever you want. I’ve been curious about lunar cycles so I’m including that in my wheel. I started with one for the entire year in the middle of the journal then opted to add monthly ones too.

I’m also going to incorporate pages dedicated to nature. Whatever captures my interest and want to learn more about.

Last year I grew a garden outdoors in the ground and encountered so much I didn’t know or understand. I learned a lot but didn’t record it and this year I wish I had. So that’s part of what’s keeping me motivated to do it this year.

I’ll be glad I did.

And for you, dear reader, it’s not too late. Find a journal (or buy a new one) that you love. Skip the first few pages (if you need to overcome that fear of messing up a new book) and draw a circle. You can search online for a template to trace or copy. Or just free hand draw or use a ruler.

And once a month or once a day, add to it. A little entry every day leads to a big picture in the end.

I bet you’ll be glad you did. Onward!