Welcome to the 8th 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, May 23, 2021

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Hi there!

So, my son and I saw some exciting things this week while we were out and about. We went down to the beach area on the Neuse River and let LadyBug run around. This is her absolutely favorite place of all the places we take her to walk. There was a young woman there fishing and she caught a small stingray! I finally got to see one up close, even the barb on his tail.

Last spring, we got to see a migration of stingrays coming through. There were thousands just offshore and it was incredible to watch. We haven’t seen the big migration this spring, but it was fun to see this little one up close. My son helped release the stingray back into the water and no one had a Steve Irwin mishap.

I’m working on some new notebooks to publish, so check back on the blog next week for updates. My son’s final (hopefully, it’ll be #9) surgery for his knee will be scheduled soon, so I’m working on getting some things published before he goes in.

How is your spring going? Are getting out in nature? Hit reply and let me know what you are noticing and observing!

This week’s newsletter Spirit Animal

Stingray Symbolism and Meanings:

When stingray shows up, it may be telling you that everything is in place –you have the skills and tools and means in place for what you need to do. So stop procrastinating and trust your abilities and inner guidance.

Stay the course and keep moving forward—You’ve got this!

Stingrays lay in wait for unsuspecting prey to come along, then they pounce! They are experts in camouflage and blending into the scenery. Stingray teaches us to move with fluidity and grace and take action when it’s time.

Stay on course
Avoid distractions or drama
Protect your path
Pounce, paralyze, consume!
Blend into your environment
Move with grace and fluidity
Trust your abilities and inner guidance
Take action

Check out this video on Stingray Symbolism

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Recently Published . . .

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

1. Check out the Stingray stationery in the Etsy shop

2. She Believed She Could So Sh e Did Notebook: Bohemian Arrows design | 8.5 x 11|college lined pages |120 pages

Blog Posts . . .

Here are my latest blog posts:

1. Journal Entry #12—Drawing Bird Feet and Rescuing a Starling

2. Essential Survival Items You Need When Nature Journaling on the Trail

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. Paul Dinning YouTube Channel—Hours of relaxing videos for you, your cat or your dog. We leave it on the duck video all for Ladybug, my son’s Labrador, when we leave the house. I also will put it on for the day when I’m home working on the computer as background noise. Love it!

2. FAST EASY Hummingbird Recipe Nectar feeding Hundreds of Birds Hummingbirds Feed in Feeders All Year

3. When Will You See Maple ‘Copters Flying?

4. Nourishing Women through Menopause and Beyond

Different Ways to Journal . . .

1. 13 POWERFUL JOURNALING TECHNIQUES (AND HOW TO START)

2. What is Art Journaling?

Articles on Journaling . . .

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

1. Writing Your Way Through the Journey You’re on: The Journal in Midlife

2. How to Get Started With Intuitive Journaling

3. 6 JOURNALING IDEAS THAT WILL MAKE YOU BETTER. PERIOD.

Random Nature Fact . . .

No two tigers ever have the same stripes, and this is how individual tigers can be identified.

Nature Journal video . . .

I just started watching Marley Piefer’s nature journaling YouTube channel and this was a fun video to learn how to draw basic shapes of reptiles and amphibians.

Nature Journaling Reptiles and Amphibians LIVE! With Doodlebugs Animal Adventures

Nature Journal Prompt . . .

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

Stingray facts:

Order: Myliobatiformes – 220 known species in 10 families

Lifespan: 15-25 years

Scientific name: Myliobatoidei

Weight: up to 3,600 lbs

Length: up to 16.5 feet

Habitat: coastal tropical and subtropical marine waters. Some are found in warmer temperate oceans and others in deep ocean, while some are in fresh water rivers.

What it eats: mollusks, crustaceans, small fish

What eats it: sea lions, sharks, seals, large fish and humans

Did you know?

It is very rare for a sting from a stingray to be fatal. Steve Irwin’s death was the second recorded in Australia since 1945. The stinger pierced his heart, which caused massive trauma and bleeding.

What I’m watching . . .

1. The Social Dilemma—on Netflix

Can social media algorithms accurately predict your next move (click)? And are they using that against you? This documentary was very interesting to watch, even if you think you already know that they are tracking you … it’s deeper than you thought.

Quote from the documentary:

“If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product”.

The Social Dilemma | Official Trailer | Netflix

2. “RUN HIDE FIGHT follows a high school sieged by a quartet of school shooters when one young girl, 17-year-old Zoe Hull, uses her wits and survival skills to fight back.”

OFFICIAL TRAILER RELEASE: Run Hide Fight

3. The Postman–An oldie–but a good one–“The year is 2013 and the future isn’t what it used to be. There are no highways, no I-ways, no dreams of a better tomorrow-only scattered bands of terrorized survivors in what was once called the United States. Into this apocalyptic wasteland comes an enigmatic drifter with a mule named Bill, a knack for the works of Shakespeare and something he has yet to discover: the power to inspire hope.”

The Postman – Original Theatrical Trailer

What I’m reading . . .

1. Writing From Life: For Women With Stories To Tell by Susan Wittig Albert

2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen

3. To Know a Fly by Vincent Dethier

Quote I’m pondering . . .

“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.”

― Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven

Questions I’m considering journaling on . . .

Where am I procrastinating and hesitating in my life? Where do I need to take action? How can I change this?

Journal Prompt . . .

Write a letter to someone who believed in you even when you didn’t believe in yourself.

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 June 6th.

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