Issue #10 The Magic Heron Newsletter – Gull is all about opportunity and resourcefulness!

Welcome to the 10th issue of The Magic Heron Newsletter, a fortnightly newsletter with a focus on journaling, writing, and learning nature’s wisdom through midlife. Thanks for being here. I appreciate you.

Summer Solstice, North Carolina, June 20, 2021

Be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button in the sidebar to receive The Magic Heron Newsletter in your inbox!

Hi there!

Happy Summer Solstice! 

We’ve had a beautiful week full of sun after rain every day from the week before. Having grown up and lived in Texas, I’m used to dust and dirt, and we only average 19” of rain a year.

Here, North Carolina averages 56” of rain a year. The shady areas of the yard stay damp and the algae that grows on the sidewalk and patio stays slimy and slippery. My son is going to have it cleaned this coming week and then it will be safer to walk on. 

My son’s surgery went well, although his knee won’t ever be the same. He is in physical therapy 5 days a week for a bit to get the joint moving as much as possible. This has been rough for him since the accident, but he is resilient and has so much determination to heal as much as possible. Now that he’s done with surgeries, I’ll probably be going back to Texas soon. 

This week 2 birds have shown up for me, the pelican and the gull. But when I sat with them both, the gull is the one that decided to be the spirit animal of the week. 

I enjoyed watching the pelicans dive down to the water last weekend when we went to the beach area on the Neuse River. They dive down and then plop their butts on the water. It’s comical after watching an osprey dive majestically into the water and come back up with a fish. 

But the gulls are interesting too. And when I looked them up, I resonated with the meanings in my life right now. Check out the meanings below and see if any of them have meaning for you. 

And if not, what does? What part of nature has shown up to you this week? Have you journaled through the symbolism? There are several resources on the internet to look up meanings of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea life. 

This week’s newsletter Spirit Animal

Gull Symbolism and Meanings:

This week I’ve been enjoying the gulls along the Neuse River beach area. We also have gulls in the Texas Panhandle at the small lake I go to for nature journaling. They are not just coastal birds, but live inland too, as well as on every continent.

Gull meanings are themed around recycling and they help keep the earth clean. As messengers of changing times and tides, they are also symbols of community and communication. 

Seagulls are opportunists, scavenging landfills and fast-food parking lots. They go where the best resources are. This reminds us to take advantage of the best resources for us. Many times, we deny ourselves opportunities because we don’t want to leave our comfort zone. If gull has shown up, it may be time to fly out of your comfort zone with the goal of finding something better. 

Gulls pick over trash left by humans and can bring us a message to recycle, or make the most of what you have, to not be wasteful and know the value of your resources. You can re-purpose stuff you find at thrift shops and yard sales instead of buying new things. 

Symbolic meanings for Gull

• Resourcefulness
• Adaptation
• Intelligence
• Communication
• Opportunistic
• Freedom
• Family

Other meanings you might think about are if you are “gull”ible about something in your life at this time. 

Gulls let their voices be heard—are you communicating effectively?

Gulls also represent freedom. A popular book with this theme is “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach. 

–

Recently Published . . .

Here are a few recently published items that may be of interest to you . . .

1. Dream it Wish it Do it Notebook: Bohemian Dreamcatcher and Feather

2. Your Only Limit Is You! Notebook: Bohemian Dreamcatcher 

–

Online Herbal Resources . . .

1. Today is the last day to sign up for the Summer Foraging and Botany Course from Herbal Academy:

Summer Foraging & Botany Course Package—This course prepares you to get started on identifying and foraging wild edibles and herbs safely, ethically, and sustainably. The discounted price is only available through June 20, 2021.

3. Mountain Rose Herbs has a HUGE sale on single and combination tinctures—25% of through the end of June or while supplies last. Mountain Rose Herbs is my favorite herbal supply company. 

What sets Mountain Rose Herbs tinctures apart from others is that not only do they make all of their extracts in-house, but almost all of them are made with fresh plant material—they are vibrant, high-quality herbal supplements!

Single extracts / tinctures

Combination extracts / tinctures

Blog Posts . . .

Here are my latest blog posts:

1. Journal Entry #15 Journaling and Nature Journaling in Your Car

2. Foraging for Wild Foods and Herbs–Online Course and Free Webinar

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. Summer Solstice 2021: The First Day of Summer—Everything You Should Know About the Longest Day of the Year

2. Fruit and Herb-Infused Water Recipes

3. How To Understand Nature (What is nature? 6 ways to SEE it for yourself)

4. From Farm to Bottle: The Story of Our Hops

5. Supporting the Microbiome Through Diet + Recipes

Different Ways to Journal . . .

1. I used to work with leather, making moccasins, bags, and even packs for my pack goats. I love this new-to-me website from Innovative Journaling for leather journal covers. I will be adding this to my project list when I return to Texas.

Handmade Leather journals by Innovative Journaling

2. You can sign up for the weekly video workshops where Arthur teaches you how to make your own leather journals. He sends out the replays if you can’t make them live and they are awesome!

3. And if you can’t wait for the next workshop, check out his YouTube channel and learn how to make your leather bags and journal covers, and more.

Articles on Journaling . . .

So many good articles on journaling. Here are a few you might like.

1. Ignite Your Inner Fire with these 4 Summer Solstice Journal Prompts

2. 19 Cool Bullet Journal Ideas to Keep You Writing and Drawing

3. Journaling Ideas That Will Make You a Better Write

Random Nature Fact . . .

Bumblebees have hair on their eyes!

Nature Journal video . . .

1. I loved this workshop on recording weather. 

Check out Roseann Hanson’s Recording Weather

Observational Skills, Page Layout and Flow

Field Arts Workshop: Weather 101 for Field Notebooks

2. Also, check out John Muir Laws’ video on measuring the wind to go with this workshop.

NJC, Episode 18: Measure the Wind!

Nature Journal Prompt . . .

This week’s nature journal prompt is the Gull. Here are some fun facts!

Gull or Seagull facts:

Family:  Laridae

Lifespan: between 15 and 20 years (up to 49 years for the herring gull)

Scientific name: Larus

Weight: range from the little gull at 4 ¼ oz to great black-backed gull at 3lb 14oz

Length: little gull 11 ½ in to great black-backed gull 30 in. 

Habitat: gulls are found on every continent, including Antarctica and the high Arctic, coastal to dry deserts. 

What it eats: crustaceans, molluscs, fish, small birds, insects, earthworms, rodents, eggs, carrion, offal, reptiles, amphibians, other birds, seeds, fruits, human refuse, chips

What eats it: eagles and other birds of prey

Nest: composed of vegetation in large, densely packed, in colonies. Lay 2-3 speckled eggs.

Did you know? 

The herring gull will use pieces of bread as bait to catch goldfish.

More…

Want to learn about the dark side of gulls? Check out this article Are Gulls Jerks?

What I’m watching . . .

1. This was a fun movie to watch about birding and what The Big Year means to birders. Great actors and funny.

The Big Year | Official Trailer HD | 2011

2.  3 words that will change your life | Emily Baker | TEDxCSULB

3. Stand By Me (1986) original theatrical trailer

What I’m reading . . .

. . .  I’ve been busy and still working on these

1. Writing From Life For Women With Stories to Tell by Susan Wittig Albert – Yep, I’m still working on this one on Kindle. I’m going to have to buy the paperback version soon because I’m ‘dog-earing’ so many pages and there are a lot of exercises I want to do out of this book.

2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I read this book last summer and fell in love with the imagery. I am rereading parts of it now because the author describes the marshes, rivers, and creeks with such vivid descriptions, it pulls you right into the landscape. 

I’m not far from where the author chose the setting and when I read the book, it feels like I’m out there on the hiking trails again with my son, like we did last summer. 

And I love the main character, I really resonate with her.

Quote I’m pondering . . .

“This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath.”

–Margaret Atwood

Questions I’m considering journaling on . . .

How can I keep adapting to the changes in my life and take advantage of the opportunities presented to me? Am I staying too much in my comfort zone? How can I be more resourceful?

Journal Prompt . . . 

We are halfway through around the Wheel of the Year! 

Take this moment to pause . . . 

. . . and reflect on the half of the year that’s ending.

How far have you come already this year? 

What was happening in your life back on the Winter Solstice? What were you dreaming of? 

What were your plans for the new year? How has your life shifted and changed since then?

In what ways have you grown?

You have come far since the sun started this cycle! Take this time to pause for a moment and let yourself feel proud for even the smallest of steps that you’ve taken and celebrate, get outside and breathe in the new energy of Summer!

Happy Journaling!

. . . Shanna

P.S. Is there something you like or would rather see in the newsletter? Hit reply and let me know!

I’ll be back on July 4th.

P.P.S. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, buy a book or notebook. Or forward this newsletter to a friend with an invitation to subscribe, right here.

Links

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

. . . Shanna Lea Author

*This email may contain affiliate links. When you click on those links you are supporting me and my business. Thank you for your support!