14 Comments

I think I'd do something like this if I wasn't writing and publishing every day. As it is right now, my "writing itch" seems to be getting scratched. This is great advice for folks in a different position.

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Wow, I admire your drive! Well, nature journaling will always be there when you have downtime. Thanks for reading!

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Thanks, Susannah! It's great to know there are folks like you giving awesome advice like this here on Substack, too. I've been super duper inspired lately, but I have no idea how long it'll last. Just very interested in putting it to work right now, you know?

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Oh, I know! When inspiration comes a-calling it's best to open that door... (oh my gosh - stop me now before cliche becomes my permanent language... ugh! lol!)

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Ha! Without cliches, we'd be like sands in the hourglass, just passing the time.

Doh!

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Thanks for this! I might have to try this. I'm sheep- and goat-sitting in Brittany all summer and wild and domesticated life here abounds. Just today saw a very large hare, a very very small mouse, the biggest hawk I've ever seen, an otter, a bunch of cows, countless songbirds, pigeons and crows, and, of course, my charges -- Jack, a very handsome goat (but a bit of a bully), and three black sheep: Ginger, Shirley and Debbie...

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I don't know which I love more – that you're in Brittany for the summer, that you are sheep and goat sitting, or the menagerie of critters crossing your path! Thank you for reading Cricklewood. It sounds like you have so much to fill a journal with and I hope you share on your Substack when you do. :-D

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Now, if only I could... draw...and yes, I know, everyone can draw, but some of us just, well, shouldn’t....

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Hee hee! That's what I love about nature journaling - it's not about the drawing. It's about telling the story of your experience in nature through words, pictures, and numbers, which incidentally is July's theme! (Just a little preview from Susannah's House of Encouragement...) :-D

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I love this idea! I really enjoy looking over how my garden has evolved and changed over the years and this would be a beautiful way of recording it.

I bought some of those water brush pens a couple of years ago but find them very awkward - is there a knack to using them?

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I would also be keen to know what sustainable alternatives to micron pens you find...

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I'll definitely let you know what I discover!

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🙏🏾🙏🏾

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Thank you! The water brushes take a bit getting used to, especially since they "bleed" water the entire time. I always have an absorbent cloth with me so I can blot the brush to dry it out a bit. I also don't use it for "fine" watercolor painting, more to just push the color around a bit. Also I use the ones from Pentel, which seem a bit better to control in terms of water flow. But ultimately the way I got used to them was to just adjust my expectations - for me at least they seem only good for adding a wash of color over my ink drawing when I nature journal and I don't use them for much else.

I think your idea of making a perpetual journal to document your garden is brilliant! :-D

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