Journal Entry #16—International Nature Journaling Week 2022 and Rosaceae Plant Family Study -

International Nature Journaling Week 2022 was last week and I am still catching up with the videos. I got swamped with my work and was unable to write about it.

I haven’t written any journal entries for the blog in a year due to taking care of a family member and staying busy with clients. I’ve written other types of blog posts but really miss the journal entries with my nature journaling experiences. So I’m going to start back writing these and sharing what I’m learning each week.

I will write more on Nature Journaling Week in the next few posts because I want to go back to a few videos to rewatch them and put my thoughts down. Today, I’m sharing what I learned from a video by Yvea Moore last night. She is one of the many wonderful mentors and teachers in the nature journaling community with John Muir Laws. I just found her channel on Youtube and started with the one on edible foods from the Rose family.

I stayed up late journaling along with her video, enjoying every minute of it. The focus was on foods in the Rosaceae (Rose) family. Most of the family’s flowers have 5 petals, 5 sepals, and clusters of pistils with long stamens.

I drew from the pictures she showed on the video and I was getting sleepy but didn’t want to stop until the video was over. I was surprised by what was in the Rose family that we eat: strawberries, apples, peaches, raspberries, and more. I didn’t know about the flowers and the fruit. I’ve always gardened but never paid attention to what the plant parts actually looked like. My time back then was focused on the work of the garden, homesteading, and homeschooling the kids. I didn’t have much time left over for being more observant.

apple blossom — Image by kie-ker from Pixabay

Now I’m focusing more on nature journaling as it has become more of a passion along with my regular journaling. I’m exploring more with drawing, even though I’m just barely past the “stick figure” phase of drawing. But it’s not about making the journal pretty. It’s about recording my observations, data, what I’m observing, and what it means to me. That is how I learn more about nature and what it is teaching and showing me.

Just like journaling is not about writing a finished piece of writing like a novel on the first round. It’s what I love about both. They can be messy drafts to put all your thoughts down and then process them. And it’s about to get messier now that I’m more interested in adding watercolors and coloring pencils to my journaling. I’m going from being a perfectionist to not caring what the page looks like to anyone else. It’s about the thought process and learning process that is going on within me to help me to continue growing as a human being.

rose family nature journal page — Rose Family Nature Journal Page by Shanna Lea

So, enjoy the images of my attempts at drawing the flowers from Yvea’s video, and then check out the nature journaling links below, grab your own nature journal and get out in nature.

Happy Journaling!

Shanna