Take It From Me, Get Out And Enjoy Nature Once In A While

Today was a great day and let me tell you why.

I spent most of it at a local nature preserve, the one pictured above, in fact.

Yes, you read that right, all day at a wildlife sanctuary and I loved every single minute of it.

But with a view like that, can you really blame me?

Today, the wetlands at Farmington Bay WMA ended up being my office for about 8 hours, and it’s not a bad way to spend a day if I do say so myself.

Just take my word, for what it is worth, and trust me on that.

And I don’t mind saying either, spending even just a few moments in nature, let alone a whole day, is quite possibly the best way I have personally found to combat the stress and anxiety of what life can sometimes throw at us.

Getting out and exploring the great outdoors, regardless if it’s at a renowned wildlife preserve photographing tundra swans or just in the backyard watching the bird feeder, is what I always advocate to any and all people I meet on my travels.

Spending a few moments enjoying the treasures of nature that are around us no matter where we are and, in turn, unwinding and even relaxing for a bit is something we all surely need at times. I know I do.

Now I must admit, however, tonight as I worked on this blog post, there was actually some hesitancy about hitting the upload button because I made a big mistake today, a very big mistake indeed.

I left my DSLR camera home for some unknown reason and all the pictures on this post were taken with the only camera I had with me, my phone.

Honestly, I almost never, ever leave home without a DSLR camera, but today, well, I did.

Like many of us do with what is currently happening in the world these days, I have a lot on my mind lately.

And as such, I just walked out the door and didn’t realize I was camera-less until I saw this butterfly feeding on a thistle plant still in bloom and reached for a camera that, well, wasn’t there.

The small, white butterfly caught my eye because it is the end of October, Halloween is in 2 days, and it’s not the time of year we usually see butterflies out and about, but today I saw several, in fact.

This kind of moment, the unexpected surprise, is what I look for when I am out in the natural world.

These offerings from nature, as simple as they may be, are what help us, in my own opinion that is, take our minds off of whatever might be weighing us down for a bit, giving us time to metaphorically breathe for a spell or two, if you will.

And this butterfly moment today, and the several other creatures that soon followed, gave me a few minutes to exhale and just enjoy something without any worries at all.

Mind you, the pictures I took today aren’t very good, however.

In fact, some of them are downright awful from a photography perspective.

But it’s not the images themselves but rather the experience I wanted to portray so I put my “photographer’s pride” on the shelf for a bit and decided to share what made this day so great anyways in hopes of encouraging someone else to take an interest in nature.

That’s what this whole website is about if truth be told.

I hope to encourage others through both photography and the written word to nurture even a small interest in nature.

There are so many competing venues out there, from social media to sports, to movies, to…, well you get the idea, that the interest in wildlife and nature seems to be dwindling from a rise in competition for out attention and time.

That scares me because when the interest in nature wanes, the support for these incredible places will soon follow and we could lose some of them, possibly forever.

I am a bird watcher and have been since I was around 8 or 9 years of age when my dad took me to Farmington Bay on my first birding trip.

I don’t remember what birds we saw that day but I do remember the experience with my dad like it was yesterday, something I will never forget.

But it’s not just birds that can pique our interest in nature.

Today I came across a small garden snake sunning itself in the visitors center parking lot.

Now snakes aren’t really my thing but it was cool to see one out so late in the season.

As I learn more about some of the creatures in nature, like snakes, for example, I find I gain a greater understanding and appreciation for them.

And that is what I hope others will garner as well when they are out in nature, just a basic understanding and appreciation for the world around us.

With this appreciation, we don’t have to get all revved up and excited when a snake slithers by, I know that is expecting a lot.

But with a newfound understanding, we also don’t have to panic and run away as well when we learn it’s just a harmless garden snake.

A little bit later in the day, I came across something I haven’t seen in a long time, a turtle.

Much like the snake, the turtle was seemingly enjoying the warm weather and sunning itself on some cattails on the edge of a canal.

I would have guessed it was much too late in the year to see amphibians like snakes and turtles, but that is why nature is so amazing, you never really know what you are going to see.

And people won’t see any of these natural treasures if they don’t get out and spend a few moments out in nature.

You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy nature, all you need is to just go, observe, and enjoy.

Yep, it is literally that simple, just get out and experience nature.

Most people are shocked when they hear me say I am not an expert birder, not by a long shot.

I am just a guy who loves birds, plain and simple, but I get out as much as possible to watch birds be birds, and from getting out whenever I can, my knowledge about birds slowly builds over time.

The same, if not more so, goes for insects as well.

I know less about insects than I do about birds, but that didn’t stop me from getting a little excited today when I saw a bee on a late-blooming thistle plant.

From butterflies to bees to snakes to turtles, I saw quite a bit of the unexpected today.

But that is what I think makes nature so compelling and why I go back, time and time again, to these same places to explore and enjoy, over and over again, like it was new each and every time because, well, it actually is.

And that is why I think nature helps so much with relaxation and stress relief.

Even at places we visit countless times, like me and the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route, we never know what to expect.

And when we see the unexpected, like it was for me today, it takes our minds off our current woes for a bit so we can mentally regroup for another day.

I know it surely does for me and I am willing to bet I am not alone with this phenomenon either.

Now before I close, I purposely left the best interaction for last from today’s time spent outdoors at Farmington Bay WMA.

I had the pleasure to meet a young man named Roman working towards his eagle scout award, something I personally never achieved but I wish I had.

This young man was looking at a possible eagle scout project by way of rebuilding some of the great blue heron nesting structures on the rookery poles, pictured behind him, out at Farmington Bay.

More than all the creatures I saw today combined, it made my day to see him out there assessing the situation and showing an interest in helping nature out a bit by considering restoring some of the great blue heron nests that have become a bit worn out and even fallen to the ground in disrepair.

I am hoping he will decide to fulfill this project during the upcoming winter, and if he does, I am also hoping to have the opportunity to post up here about his efforts as I think it deserves to be recognized.

Well, there you have it, a great day all the way around made possible by just getting out in nature for a spell.

There were certainly a lot of other things to see that I couldn’t capture with my phone, such as a pair of red-tailed hawks soaring high above us and a large flock of cinnamon teal taking turns bathing in the nearby waters.

But all in all, nature is a great place to be to help unwind and relax.

Many places like Farmington Bay WMA have nature trails that allow visitors to take a nice stroll on a well-groomed path that only adds to the experience in my book.

But to enjoy and appreciate these places and what lives in them, people need to get out and visit these places, and that is what I hope they do someday.

I will continue to get out and photograph and write about my experiences in nature, hoping that it does indeed spark some kind of fire within some of my readers.

And for notifications about future blog posts, I offer you to head on over to my subscribe page and sign up for email notifications each time I post about something about nature I find interesting and worthwhile to share.

If you are into nature like I am, I also offer you to share any blog posts you find interesting on your favorite social media outlet.

I appreciate your support and readership and enjoy blogging about nature for others to hopefully enjoy as well.

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