baby, it’s cold outside!
oh, and it’s national AUDREY day! 😉
hehe 😉
and the holly tree sure looks pretty in the snow!
happy new year!
Tag Archives: nature
{HBD, J}
29 Sepi love this picture so much! i also love calendula flower so much! {that’s why i grew some this year!} 🙂
celebrating the birthday of a loved one today! ❤
and also celebrating the practice of letting go…
“the end” of something isn’t alway a bad thing… some things need to “die” in order for new growth to occur… i am pretty confident that we can all relate to that in some way…
not to say that loss is easy… but letting go is different.
plants are the best teachers that offer us the chance to channel the connection within the cyclical nature and patterns of life! they remind us that impermanence is part of essentially everything… they also remind us to be present in each now moment… to embrace and enjoy and relish in that which is before us, as we do our best to dance the dance we experience each passing day on this earth.
love those you love with all you have! but also remember – to love yourself first and foremost!
❤
{spring is springing… again!}
16 Mayi was recently having a discussion with a dear friend the other day about rebirth and resurrection and cycles of life, etc. and i was thinking about how gardening is one of the most fascinating things for me because plants go through all of the cycles… birth through death and then rebirth… it’s fascinating and marvelous to witness. springtime is so incredible because we get to be renewed with LIFE again… each and every time.
it has been a simply marvelous spring season here in maryland! we have had lots of rain lately, so everything looks so lush and green and vibrant! i just can’t help but pause to admire all the beautiful blooms up and down the streets and in peoples yards and gardens! i snapped a few fotos with the iphone, and here are some images of the beautiful flowers i’ve been seeing lately on my nature walks… 🙂
{don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers!}
i am so excited for the next round of blooms! 🙂 ❤
{audrey and venus and jupiter, oh my!}
21 Feband the awesome crescent moon… lookin’ like the cheshire cat smile!!!
🙂
p.s. i love how you can see the outline of the moon, too!
both venus and jupiter will be visible through the end of february! so, make sure to look up! ❤
and don’t forget to get out in nature! it’s so healing!!!
{praying mantis hatching}
20 Juni thought this would be a good post to celebrate the summer solstice! 😀
i have always been somewhat obsessed with the praying mantis. for as long as i can remember, i just thought they were so cool, and when i was a kid i used to look for them everywhere i would go! i saw one giving itself a bath one time and it was just about the most amazing thing ever. until i saw THIS! something i have had on my “bucket list” for a while…
backtrack a bit – when i lived in north carolina, a friend of mine found a praying mantis pod {aka ootheca} and saved it for me. i, of course, totally freaked out about it and immediately went to read about how to care for it… then i took a bunch of photos of it and eventually put in my garden…
i did not get to see that one hatch at that time, but this year… i totally made up for it. i found at least a dozen of these in my garden earlier this year. and in late spring, they all began to hatch… and all of these baby praying mantids started to emerge!
IT WAS SO COOL!!!
fun facts :
baby praying mantids are called nymphs. they hatch by the dozens {or sometimes hundreds} a while after the mama creates her ootheca pod {which tranlates to “a place to keep.”} praying mantids are so good for the garden! they are beneficial predatory insects… which basically means they prey the harmful insects which would otherwise harm or eat plants! and i just totally adore them!
{strawberry full moon}
15 Junobviously i have a little theme going here, lately… 😉
all things strawberry!!!
upon waking {accidentally super early} this morning, i went down to the park and captured a few fotos of the beautiful full {strawberry} moon. while there, i made friends with a few ducks, and even finally got to see some baby ducklings for the first time this season!
please enjoy these lovely fotos!
i just love that gradient sky! good morning {and good night} moon! ❤
see the blue herring?!
i just love a pier on a summer morning…
mama and baby ducks… they followed me around for a bit… it was so cute!
baby ducklings splashing around…
aaahhhhhh, morning golden hour! the best!
how was your morning? have a great day!
{garden update}
30 Aprthe weather here in Maryland has been so confusing for the last two months. i think we even had a frost last week! however, i do believe we are finally hitting that spring stride… and i’m so ready!
i’ve been steadily getting my garden ready, also! currently, i have lots of sprouts coming up, hooray! i also have a lot of weeds, boo! but i’m holding off on doing too much weeding just yet so i make sure not to pull any sprouts. typically i don’t have any weeds and i take pride in that… but i’ll just have to be patient for now. 😉
here are some pics to show the progress. {if you follow me on instagram, you’ve probably already seen these… and if you don’t, please do – here.}
{nature hike}
30 Marnothing like a stroll in nature to clear the mind, connect with the earth, and welcome the new season!
it’s been a little chilly here lately {boo!} but just recently, i took a little walk with my cousin through a beautiful trail nearby and we both had our cameras in hand.
here are a few of my favourite images from the day.
happy spring, y’all – hope it’s springing where you are!
stumbled onto this along the way!
had a little fun taking pics of it…
these trees kind of remind of me aspens…
nothing like sunset over the water…
how’s the weather where you live?
{belated full moon post}
19 Febi took some pretty pictures of the moon a while back and never got around to posting them. since we recently experienced a full moon, i thought i would share some of those images here with you.
also – my favourite quote :
“to be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best to make you something else, is to fight the hardest battle you are going to fight… never stop fighting.” – ee cummings
{funky fungi}
6 Octspeaking of mushrooms and fungi – check out this fantastic wild funky fungi that was recently gifted to me. apparently it’s edible, but it was just a little passed its prime when i got my hands on it. this amazing thing grows wild on a tree in a friend’s backyard. i wish i could remember the name. perhaps she will remind me before i decide to post this blog. another good friend of mine said it looked like a brain – haha. {he’s constantly saying silly things like that}
i love the golden colour! it reminds me of {yummy!} chanterelle mushrooms, but i was informed that this is technically a fungi. so now i’m curious about which is which… how to distinguish the difference, if there is one?! i think it may have something to do with the underside – the gills?! i’m going to do more research, and i welcome any insight from my amazing readers and/or forager friends!
so without further ado, here are some artistic fotos i took of this fascinating creation from our incredible earth.
update 03/17/22 : i am pretty confident that this is a “chicken of the woods” mushroom”…
it does kind of look like a brain in this foto
{fantastic fungi – local edition}
30 Sepy’all – i LOVE mushrooms! i always have. they fascinate me. i recently watched a super cool documentary that i highly recommend you check out – fantastic fungi. in discovering that film, i learned that mushrooms aren’t really a plant and they aren’t really an animal… they are like their own category. understanding that made me love them even more! i wish i could articulate just how amazing mushrooms really are. essentially they have an entire underground system in which they are all interconnected… and in some ways, mushrooms connect all of us, too! it’s just mind-blowing to learn and think about!
the weather has been just gorgeous here in maryland as of late. simply and purely perfectly autumn – warm sun, cool breeze, crisp air… the best! which means i want to get outside as much as possible! and so i went on a beautiful nature walk the other day and i must’ve seen at least 30 different kinds of mushrooms! i was constantly stopping and marveling at them. i snapped some pics with my phone and so i wanted to share what i saw.
i hope you enjoy and i truly encourage you to watch that film. i think i’ll watch it again and again!
{always look for the silver lining}
1 Juljust a lil’ reminder 😉
and also, i had the best intentions of updating this blog more…
and i still do…
and i will again…
and i thank you all for your patience and for showing up, even when my presence is a little more vague and sporadic than usual as of late…
and it truly means so much to me that you continue to choose to follow along in my journey, and read my blog, and engage…
and i’m thinking of my sweet cousin tony today… ❤
and that is all… for now…
{praying mantis egg case : part 2}
3 Maygarden season is finally here! which means my happiness meter just skyrocketed! 🙂
i recently gave my praying mantis egg case an apartment upgrade by relocating it to the community garden. i {safely} tied it to a trellis in my plot.
the praying mantis serves as a wonderful addition to any garden, since they are a beneficial insect. they prey on other insects that may otherwise be harmful to crops and soil.
plus, they are totally fascinating to admire and watch! and i am hoping i am able to witness the case hatch and capture it on film!
i will be checking on it regularly, so stay tuned for more updates!
#farmeraudrey
{praying mantis egg case : part 1}
29 Apra good friend of mine recently gifted me with this very unique and beautiful creation from nature.
have you ever seen such a thing?! do you have any idea what it is?!
i suppose the title of this blogpost gives it away 🙂
this is a praying mantis egg case!!!
as many of you may know about me, i am somewhat obsessed with the praying mantis. i had never seen an egg case before, but i was completely thrilled when this showed up in my life! {i think i even cried a little}
and so of course, i had to take some {perhaps too many?!} pictures!
i think the details are just so mesmerizing and are something to behold and appreciate! Continue reading
{stargazer stages}
3 Mar
stargazer lilies are one of my favourite flowers! they are not only stunning to look at, but the scent is simply intoxicating!
i appreciate the intricate details within every flower blossom of the stargazer lily. i love to watch each one go through every stage as it blooms and opens. it makes me think of the phases and stages we as human beings go through in life. it’s like a flower blossoming… our journey may start by feeling closed off to the space around us… unsure of ourselves or “hiding” from the world… then in a divine way, we slowly start to open up and reveal our true inner beauty… and ideally as we grow and blossom, the world accepts and appreciates that beauty and all that we uniquely are, and we are ultimately embraced in all of our glory.
but just like a flower, it doesn’t really matter if anyone notices or appreciates or embraces. the essence of a flowers purpose is to simply be. it is beautiful with or without the recognition it deserves. and if we are lucky enough to be in the presence of such beauty, it serves us well to pause, notice, admire, appreciate, and absorb all that which IS.
and we are given that opportunity every single day.
{bodacious blood oranges}
14 Deci think it is so incredible how nature provides us with the right types of food for each season.
for example – blood oranges are in season from december to march. which is the perfect time to consume them for that extra vitamin c punch during the winter months!
and aren’t they just so magical?!
{an autumn stroll through historic yates mill county park}
22 Octin the mid-morning hours of a brisk and blissful sunday, in the glory of a charming and colourful mid-october, in a pleasant little nook of north carolina, i took myself {and my camera} on a spontaneous date with nature…
… and we both needed it.
{summer’s final moon}
28 Augi just never tire of experiencing the ocean… the sight, the smell, the sound… the feeling, the energy all around!
i also never tire of experiencing the moon… equally as much wonderful energy to behold!
i went down to the shore over the weekend for some {much needed} vitamin sea and to admire and enjoy the ocean and the full moon. by the time i got to the beach, the moon was just coming up over the horizon… and some hazy clouds initially obstructed the view.
still… breathtaking, right?!
it wasn’t long before the moon peeked out of the ombre sky and shared her beauty with us one again, in her final appearance of summer.
i walked around for a good hour or so, gazing in wanderlust as the moon took place high in the sky, illuminating all it touched…
… listening to the crashing waves, my senses engaged with the salty air, my toes wiggling in the soft sand…
feeling humbled and grateful for all that has been before me and all that is around me now. for all that will be, for all that i am, for all that i have, and for all that i have yet to experience.
i am audrey michelle
i am a minimalist
i am a ritualist
f&f on your boards
food & foto 