Welcome to the 3rd 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.

North Carolina, March 14, 2021

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Hi there!

Spring is rolling in this week. The sun is out and daytime temperatures are hovering just below to mid 70’s here in North Carolina.

This week, my son and I saw a black squirrel on our Sunday drive. I have only seen one black squirrel before, but only briefly while driving. This one was scampering about the grass and then jumped onto a nearby tree and stared at us through the branches. I think he was a Fox squirrel, but I’m not sure as he was pretty quick.

In the backyard, we have an Eastern Gray Squirrel that loves to raid the bird feeders. I watched his antics this week, as he figured out how to access the tube bird feeder that hung below another feeder on a string. He made several attempts to crawl over the 1^st feeder, but would either back up onto the branch or fall to the ground. Then, he lowered himself down over the first feeder, held on to the feeder with his back tippy toes, and grabbed the tube feeder with his front feet and pulled it up to his mouth and stuffed his piehole. Very resourceful indeed!

Since squirrel has shown up, and he showed us how to be resourceful, he will be this week’s Spirit Animal. Here’s a picture I took of him. I think we spent an hour just watching him figure this out!

Squirrel meaning: energy, play, balance, socializing, resourcefulness, preparation for the future

I’ve been watching the squirrel all week, trailing along the Magnolia branch, then dropping down to the top rail of the fence, then along the dead tree branch to perch above the feeders and contemplate his strategy.

I look back through my day and week to see if this squirrel is showing me something about my life right now. It is spring, and energy is picking up from the slow days winter had. Birds are chirping more, calling to mates, starting to build nests. The sap is rising in the trees and buds are appearing.

It is time to balance the winter slowness, and inwardness with the bustle of new energy of spring, new activity, new writing projects to start. Time to be resourceful, think of new strategies for income as we continue through another year of COVID. And as I am coursing through midlife… ha ha… how am I preparing for the future? Squirrels constantly look for food and “squirrel it away” for the coming winter. I need to stay vigilant and prepare for the coming year and not become complacent with the warm sunny days.

(Or, maybe he’s telling me I’m getting too distracted with shiny new objects and procrastinating on some of the projects I’d planned for this quarter? Oh, look, squirrel!)

These are just a few of the ways that you can see nature around you as a messenger for your daily life. And when you keep developing intuition, and asking questions for guidance, just look to nature and see what answers it brings. The more attuned you become, the more nature will reflect back to you.

Recently Published . . .

Salmon Patties, Cakes and Burgers: 25 Best Fish Patty Recipes

Do you like Salmon Patties? I published a recipe book last year with delicious recipes.

Recipe

Here’s one of the recipes from the book:

Pineapple Salmon Cakes

Ingredients:

2 (6 ounce) cans salmon, drained

1 egg, beaten

2 Tbs red onion, chopped, or more to taste

1 Tbs pineapple, crushed, or to taste

1 Tbs green bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats, or as needed

2 Tbs olive oil, or to taste

1 Tbs butter

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Variation:

Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce

Prep Time 10m Cook Time 15m Ready in 25m Servings 4

Directions:

Mix salmon, egg, and red onion, pineapple, green bell pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes in a bowl.
Add oats a little at a time, mixing until the mixture holds together. Do not let it become overly moist.
Shape the mixture into 4 patties.
Heat olive oil and butter together in a skillet over medium heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot.
Fry patties in oil mixture until golden brown, about 7 minutes per side.

Click here to order Salmon Patties, Cakes and Burgers: 25 Best Fish Patty Recipes

New Notebooks!

I also published new notebooks. These were a request by my best friend, she wanted hot air balloons on the covers. You can find them on Amazon here under the Magic Herons Creations page.

Interesting links . . .

I found these links of interest this week on my wanderings through Internet Land, and thought I’d share them with you.

1. 8 Ideas for Attracting and Feeding Birds in Spring

2. Salmon Trees

3. A forest-based yard improved the immune system of daycare children in only a month

4. Scrappy Frontier

5. Magnificent Midlife

6. The Nature Journal Club on Facebook

Different ways to journal ideas . . .

There are so many ways to journal and making a handmade junk journal can be just the thing to put your creativity to use. This video shows you how to use old books break down and remake into a junk journal. I’m remembering back to so many books I’ve seen at thrift shops that would be perfect for this!

Cool Junk Journal how-to video:

How to Make Junk Journal out of an Old Book!! (Part1) Step by Step DIY Tutorial for Beginners

Articles on Journaling . . .

Need some journaling prompts? Try list prompts!
List Love: 101 List Prompts For Your Art Journals

Random Nature Fact . . .

There are 5 species of squirrels in North Carolina!

Nature Journal video . . .

This video shows the common birds that you can see in your backyard. Pause it, study each bird’s details and nature journal them so you can identify them when they show up.

Identify Your Backyard Birds

Nature Journal Prompt . . .

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

Eastern Gray Squirrel facts:

Sciuridae family of small/medium-sized rodents

Squirrel family includes: tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, flying squirrels, prairie dogs and more

Lifespan: 1-2 years for a young squirrel, if it survives to adulthood, then 6 years

Scientific name: Sciuridae

Weight: 10.5 – 25 oz

Length: 15-20 inches (tail is 7-10 inches)

Habitat: forests, old-growth hardwoods, mixed hardwood-coniferous forests, rural, suburban, and urban woodlots.

For dens they make nests out of leaves, twigs, and shredded bark or tree cavities.

What it eats: seeds (maple, ash, basswood) and nuts (acorns, beechnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts). Tree buds, flowers and inner bark of the trees, mushrooms, berries and fruits. Bury the nuts and use their sense of smell to find them in the winter. Will also eat insects, bird eggs and even young birds.

What eats it: Predators include humans (hunting, vehicle strikes), birds of prey (red-tailed hawks, owls, etc.), bobcats, coyotes, foxes, black rat snakes, raccoons.

Did You Know? Before the destruction of deciduous forests, there were mass gray squirrel immigrations. Read about it here

And more squirrel info here.

What I’m watching . . .

Quigley Down Under trailer – currently on Netflix

This is one of my favorites!

What I’m reading . . .

Eating an Elephant—Write Your Life One Bite at a Time by Patricia Charpentier

The Natural Navigator – Tristan Gooley

How to Read Nature – Tristan Gooley

Quote I’m pondering . . .

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

— Anne Bradstreet

Questions I’m considering journaling on . . .

I watched a webinar on overcoming your fears on backpacking for women. Some women are afraid of getting lost, others about not being safe on the trail, and others are afraid of going solo.

In the video, she discussed how she would show you through each fear and what to do about it.

Getting lost? Learn navigation and map reading
Safety? Take responsibility for learning how to keep yourself safe.
Solo? Learning how to map out your trail, plan for all the details and learn your skills.

I have always enjoyed going out in nature, but I have fears too. In Texas, it was easy to find my way back on the trail, but here in North Carolina, the trails meander through the forests, I cannot sense my direction and get turned around. So I am rereading Tristan Gooley’s book The Natural Navigator and journaling through my fears by learning how to navigate the trails here.

What are your fears of going backpacking? What skills can you learn to put those fears to rest?

Journal Prompt . . .

Journal your thoughts as if this were you hitting the trail. Does it bring excitement for adventure?

Or does it bring up some fears of backpacking on your own?

Hit reply and let me know your adventures in nature!

Happy Journaling!

. . . Shanna

P.S. Did you set your clocks forward? (Spring forward!)

I’ll be back on March 28th.

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 on the right sidebar of the website.

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