JFiN: "Fun with Sticks" Story

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"Fun with Sticks" 

A SHORT STORY BY THE OTHER BERNIE

* The 'mushrooms' in the story are probably lichens.

 Join Bernie, Liz, Abbey, and Laura

Jericho Families in Nature Planning Group

in the next JFiN outing.

In the meantime

go outside, observe, explore, and have fun!

Nature is what we see

Emily Dickinson

“Nature” is what we see—

The Hill—the Afternoon—

Squirrel—Eclipse—the Bumble bee—

Nay—Nature is Heaven—

Nature is what we hear—

The Bobolink—the Sea—

Thunder—the Cricket—

Nay—Nature is Harmony—

Nature is what we know—

Yet have no art to say—

So impotent Our Wisdom is

To her Simplicity.

Jericho Wild - Life

Observing Nature

You are hereby granted permission.

Explore nature. In your backyard, at a local park, in the woods, fields, and streams. Observe the creatures that breathe, sleep, eat, and perhaps even play as we do though likely not the same way we do. 

Discover using only your own senses, take in the wonder of the unknown through your own lens those species that live amongst us, that share and depend upon the natural habitat just as we do.

Ask yourself and others on your walk, without expecting a sure answer, why does that plant have concurrent rings on its stems? Why does that bumblebee visit some colors of flowers but not others? Where does that beetle sleep at night? Examine and theorize (guess) and discuss together; use the principles of Concept, Evidence, and Reasoning. 

Anything you find of interest is worth talking about. 

Go out to find not answers but questions.

Become small to see small, and smaller, and very small life forms, where secrets are exposed to those who look closely and patiently. How small can you go? If you were that small (insect or creature or plant) for a day,  what would you eat? Where would you sleep? How would you move about? How would you warm up on a cold morning? How fast could you move? If you were an ant how long would it take you to walk across your backyard? How high would you dare to climb?

Bring only your verbs with you into nature’s realm: Observe, discover, explore, see, smell, touch, hear, mimic, play, pretend, question, suppose, or suggest answers. Do insects ever accidentally bump into each other? What might they say to each other when they do bump?

Give yourself permission to not know the answers and to be curious. Let the knowledge come from what you find interesting, what you are curious about. Let your questions help you find the patterns and processes that shape the landscape and the creatures that live there.

Tell a story. Sketch an "event map” or “treasure map” of your walk including the trail and what you observe along the way. Draw or paint, or write about your experience, observations, feelings while on the walk, likes, favorites, and funny episodes along the way. What was new to you? Will you observe life in your own backyard? What might you see there?

Join us on a JFiN (Jericho Families in Nature), a facilitated walk for families and communal connection with nature. Expect nature to flood your senses with exquisite detail and unimaginable mysteries. The key to this fabulous portal is foremost to stop, look, and listen with no agenda, and to enter into alien worlds waiting to be discovered by you. 

JFiN - helping individuals cultivate a love of nature.