Issue #30 The Magic Heron Newsletter – What creature teaches us about using clever strategies for survival?

Welcome to the 30th issue of The Magic Heron Newsletter, a fortnightly newsletter with a focus on journaling, writing, and learning nature’s wisdom through midlife. 

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Texas, April 10, 2022

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Hi there !

How’s your spring weather going? 

We have had high winds causing high fire danger days, wildfires, a blizzard, 85-degree days, then a cold front, more wildfires…and that was just in the last week!

One wildfire alone burned 40,000 acres of grassland and a town had to be evacuated. Thankfully most of the people and livestock were moved out, but I think several rural homes were lost. 

It’s windy again today, but the birds are crazy chirping and I’ve got tomato seedlings sitting out in the sun anyway. I can’t put them in the ground until around the 15^th or better yet, after the mesquite has bloomed. The mesquite is the surest sign of no more frost. 

My daughter brought home tomato, squash, and strawberry plants for us to put in our container garden. We also bought a variety of flower seeds and greens that we need to get planted soon. I’ve raked the yards, and now it’s time to get the containers ready. Has your spring been crazy too? Are you planting a garden? 

This week we saw a fox late one evening across the street. It was traveling in and around the yards. I know they’ve been here for years, but it’s not often you get to see one. Even in the dark, I could tell by its shape it was a fox and felt lucky to be able to see it.

This week’s Spirit Animal for the newsletter is the Fox. Read on below for the Spirit Animal Journal for Fox that I just published this week.

This week’s Newsletter Spirit Animal

Fox Symbolism and Meanings:

Known in many myths and folklore stories as the trickster, the fox teaches us to think outside the box and use clever strategies for survival. Fox teaches us how to look at our circumstances from a different angle and try different actions.

Fox reminds us to use all of our resources to accomplish our goals, and these can be seen or unseen resources. This means being aware of our surroundings and being mindful, so we can see the unseen opportunities. 

The fox is adaptable to its surroundings and blends in, therefore it can use the environment or circumstances to its advantage.

Fox Symbolism:

• Focus
• Cunning 
• Right-action
• Determination
• Adaptability
• Knowledge 
• Wisdom 
• Mindfulness
• Awareness

Fox can also teach us about change, or acquiring new skills. Maybe it is time to get out of your comfort zone where you’ve become too comfortable. It may be time to make a change in the physical, mental, or spiritual areas of your life. 

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Recently Published . . .

New in the Etsy Shop!

1. SPIRIT ANIMAL Fox, Animal Guide Totem Meanings, Spirit Companion, Spirit Companionship, Printable Journal Prompts and Cards

2. Letter writing – Sunflower Burst printable stationery – digital download

–

Recently Published . . .

New Books!

1. Seahorse Notebook

2. Summer Sunflowers Sunglasses and HoneyComb Design Notebook

Botanical Drawing Course

1. Does herbalism spark your creative fire? If you doodle all over your study notes and dream of filling your materia medica with beautiful, accurate botanical illustrations, then the Botanical Drawing for Herbalists Course is for you!

Botanical Drawing for Herbalists Course

Spring Fun . . . 

1. Foraging is a fun spring activity that gets you outside in nature and learning your plants. Celebrate Herbalist Day on April 17 by cooking up a few of these delicious recipes. 

Free eBook!!

Foraged Foods of Spring: A Recipe Book –This ebook is packed with recipes featuring foraged and herbal ingredients.

Recipe from the book . . . 

Here’s a recipe from the book:

Stuffed Morels

by Chrisha Favors of @naturally_chrisha

When I moved to the Pacific Northwest, I began to cultivate a very fond relationship with foraging edible mushrooms. There’s something magical about these forest floor cuties that bring me immense joy. Mushroom hunting is becoming a beloved pastime for me, and I enjoy partaking throughout the seasons. Springtime brings about one of my favorite varieties of mushrooms, the morel (Morchella spp.). Morels are some of the most interesting-looking mushrooms I’ve ever seen in the wild with their brain-like, ash-colored caps and hollow, white stipes (stem). 

Cooking with wild mushrooms is always a fun and creative venture. With the morels, I wanted to create a dish where they can hold their regal and distinctive shape. This recipe uses what are called “burn morels,” because they’re often found in areas where recent fires have occurred. Burn morels have taught me more about the resilience of nature, and although these mushrooms were created out of devastation, the resiliency that exists in nature is apparent with the growth of these delectable beauties.

Ingredients

8-10 fresh foraged morels (Morchella spp.)
1 cup cream cheese (or cream cheese substitute), softened
Herbs (rosemary, thyme, chive flowers, or your choice!), to taste
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 egg (or egg substitute)
1 cup breadcrumbs
½ cup Parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast)
1 tbsp avocado oil

For full directions to make this dish, plus many more original recipes from these inspiring foragers, download this spring-infused free offer below.

Download Foraged Foods of Spring: A Recipe Book here!

Interesting links . . .

Here are some interesting links I came across on my ventures through Internet Land this week that I thought you might enjoy

1. DIY Aromatic Fire Starter Basket

2. Sweet Mint Tea Punch Recipe

3. Top 10 Gorgeous Cottage Garden Plants to Grow

4. How to Grow More Food in the Space You Have

5. One-Legged Birds–How Birds Lose Legs and How You Can Help Them Survive

***I use Mountain Rose Herbs for ordering all the herbs I use. Every order I’ve received has always been fresh and gorgeous. Click here to order the herbs you need for your teas, infusions, spices, and other ingredients for your kitchen:

Mountain Rose Herbs

Journaling Inspiration . . .

1. Journaling ideas for a happier day

2. 3 Steps for Writing Through Resistance to Release

3. Can Journaling Permanently Change Your Response to Stress

4. What to Do When Journaling Makes You Feel Worse

5. 7 Easy Ways to Generate Endless Journal Writing Prompts

Random Nature Fact . . .

A baby kangaroo is only about an inch long at birth—no bigger than a queen bee!

Nature Journal Video . . .

1. Bring your journal, scraps of paper, piles of hoarded art supplies, any pressed flowers or nature ephemera, and a mug of hot chocolate (or glass of wine). Packing tape and Mod Podge are also recommended! We are going to play with some art journaling, junk journaling and nature journaling techniques from the cozy comfort of home. This is a fun, funky, creative unlock that will help bring the fun back into your practice instead of feeling guilt when you look at your unused nature journal kit.

Playing with Pressed Flowers and Art Journaling Techniques

Nature Journal Prompt . . .

Use the picture above to practice drawing in your nature journal and noticing details about this animal.

Fox facts: 

Lifespan: 4 years in the wild, up to 14 years in captivity

Scientific name: Vulpes vulpes

Weight: Fennec fox 1.5 – 3.5 lbs, Arctic fox 7.1 – 21 lbs, Red fox 4.9 – 21 lbs

Speed: 30-40 mph 

Habitat: forests, mountains, grasslands, deserts, Arctic tundra

What it eats: rabbits, rodents, shrews, voles, squirrels, birds, frogs, earthworms, carrion, berries, fruit

What eats (or preys on) it: bears, wolves, mountain lions, eagles, owls, coyotes, wolverines, bobcats, leopards, humans. Young are preyed on by eagles, coyotes, and badgers

Did you know? 

The fox uses Earth’s magnetic field to calculate how to locate it’s prey under snow. Check out this video and watch how the fox does just that! Narrated by Tom Selleck.

Fox Dives Headfirst Into Snow | North America

What I’m watching . . .

1. My daughter and I are watching The Mummy trilogy this week. The first one is my favorite and is always fun to watch.

The Mummy Official Trailer #2 – Brendan Fraser Movie (1999) HD

What I’m listening to . . .

1. I’ve been listening to and watching the birds as I rake the yards. They are building nests, chowing down at the bird feeder and chirping away. 

And the wind. Always the wind here. We are forecasted to have more high windy days this week.

What I’m reading . . .

1. I read this book last summer and fell in love with it. I was living in North Carolina at the time and the author’s nature writing was spot on to the nature right outside my door. Time to reread it before the movie comes out.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

2. And Reese Witherspoon just produced it into a movie that will be in theaters this summer. Check out the trailer:

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING – Official Trailer (HD)

Quote I’m pondering . . .

“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.”

—Laura Ingalls Wilder

Questions I’m considering journaling on . . . 

Even though birds are crazy chirping right now, the real frenzy of spring is not here yet. Soon, baby birds will hatch, and the parents will be descending on worms, bugs, seeds, etc., trying to feed the noisy neverending hunger of their young. 

Hour after hour, day after day, for at least a month for most, they will be hunting for food and babies will be squawking. By the time the fledglings leave the nest (or are kicked out haha) the parents will look (and be) worn out. 

I think we too, have to keep “feeding the beast” –whether it is paying the bills, running a business, or whatever endeavors we are in during spring. Now is the time to find a balance between the slumber of winter and the feeding frenzy of spring without overwhelm overtaking our lives. 

How do we do this?

Journal Prompt . . . 

When the weather turns nice, what is the sense you most use? Is it taste, smell, hear, touch, or see? What comes to you when you focus on this sense? What is the sense you least use at this time? How can you develop it on a deeper level?

Happy Journaling!

. . . Shanna

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I’ll be back on April 24th!

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Links

Shanna Lea Author website
Books on Amazon
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Magic Heron Creations Etsy Shop

. . . Shanna Lea Author

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