Nature Journal - The Concept

FOR the longest time I've wanted to keep a nature journal. Clare Walker Leslie seems to be an authority on this topic, and I was happy to find "The Art of Field Sketching" at the library. Funny how we find every excuse not to start something that could be a little bit daunting... believe it or not I've looked in three local shops and have not been able to find an unruled notebook. Of course art stores keep these, but somehow it's easier to complain that I don't have the right equipment and don't have time for a special trip to an art store than to actually take the plunge and start my book using whatever paper comes to hand, accepting that the drawings will not in fact be perfect. Meanwhile Emma asks me to draw the most intricate scenes and is delighted with the craziest kritzel. Perhaps I should stick with my dayjob.

A Pocketful of Pinecones

I got hold of Karen Andreola's 'A Pocketful of Pinecones' and read it nonstop for a couple of days. It's an account of a mother's journey into homeschooling using Charlotte Mason's methods, written in the form of a diary and set in the 1930s. Though the family has their share of problems, it does sound like quite an idyllic world they live in, and such a peaceful yet exciting environment for the children. I can highly recommend this book to anyone looking into such methods or anyone just looking for a good wholesome read!

The mother in the book swears by Anna Botsford Comstock's 'Handbook of Nature Study'. This is a real book, published in 1911. Ms Comstock was a US artist, educator, conservationist and a leader of the nature study movement. I was delighted to find a copy in the library, and though some pieces are a little outdated, the nature of nature does not really change all that much. It's a big fat tome, more a reference book than one you can read from cover to cover, though I'm doing my best before it's due back. It's already noted on my Christmas wishlist :-)