Hiking and nature journaling are my favorite pass-times. I made an impromptu decision to try and squeeze in a quick hike today in between rain storms. We have had an amazing amount of rain this spring and I was itching to get a bit of nature. I’ve decided to share my little ½ mile, 1 hour long hiking experience with you to share with you how much you can witness if you just slow down a bit and look!

Hiking: Only a Few Feet From the Parking Lot

I watched an American Goldfinch perched on a tiny little branch at the top of a small bush. It called back and forth for about a minute. Meanwhile, I’m hiking down this steep hill into a planted prairie meadow. From up here, the view is breathtaking.

Can You Nature Journal Birdsong?

In the background, I’m hearing one of my favorite birds calling — a red-winged blackbird. I always thought their call sounded a bit like an old-fashioned telephone ringing. There are about 10 of them swooping back and forth across the meadow. They are much too quick and skittish for me to catch a photo with my phone, but I enjoy their presence.

To my right is the usually calm creek that runs alongside the trail. Today I heard it roaring from the top of the hill. We’ve had massive amounts of rain this spring. This normally quiet little creek is a powerful, muddy, rushing river today!

As I walk the trail alongside this creek, I see dragonflies and damselflies flitting back and forth. It’s so difficult to catch them sitting still long enough to get a good picture. (I must get my actual camera out here soon!) I take a short side-trail through the woods to get a good up-close look at the swollen creek. As I head back, I spot a damselfly. I slow down and get my phone camera ready. OMG! I got it this time! I’m not sure what species this is, but I now have a decent shot of it on my phone. I’ll sketch it later and see what species it is. So excited!

Look Closely: Native Wildflowers Ahead

As I walk on, I’m enjoying the native wildflower show all around me. Close to the ground are the delicate pink flowers of vetch. Rising up on tall stems, bursting with buds ready to open, I see hundreds of purple milkweed (aka: swamp milkweed). There are bumble bees flitting back and forth over these. I’m so happy to see so many of these this year. Their super-power is being a nursery plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. I can’t wait to see those!

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Hiking Reveals Critters as Well as Flowers

Just a few feet up ahead I hear a loud plonk! I know that a black walnut has fallen from the tree. I know exactly where this tree is, as I gathered nuts off the ground last fall from this particular tree. Yum! I pick up the nut and notice that the stem has been chewed. My mind wanders and I picture a squirrel sitting high up in the tree, trying to time the falling projectile to my walking speed. (I’m not really sure why a cartoon scenario is playing in my head — but I go with it.)

I’ve barely taken a few steps from the walnut tree when I spot 2 small brown rabbits resting on the trail up ahead. They appear to be adolescents. I take slow, quiet steps — I want to see how close they’ll let me come. They hop ahead a few feet, but stay on the trail. We repeat this sequence a couple more times before they hop off into the tall grass.

Eye-Popping Color

At this point, I’m about ¼ mile into the ½ mile trail that I’m hiking today. My boots are soaked. I’m truly in the moment. It’s hard not to be when you’re in a place like this. 

Turning another corner, is that a wild rose? As I get closer, I see it’s a blackberry bramble! Itsy bitsy fruits are just beginning to form. I’ll keep my eye on those as they get larger. Maybe the birds won’t mind sharing a berry or two.

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Across the path from the blackberries, there are a few conifers; one a fir with large cones. As I step closer, I can see the sap dripping from them. I snap a picture — this will eventually go into my nature journal. Spotting a wildflower that I can’t identify, I snap a photo, so I can look it up later. 

Too Much Coffee! (Is That a Thing?)

I still have a bit to go on my trail, including back up the steep hill to my car. Sadly, I speed up my pace and probably miss even more cool things, ‘cause — coffee! I didn’t expect to go hiking today due to the rain, so I had lots and lots of coffee! And now I have to pee! Well, it was an amazing hike. I feel like a new person! I’m over-the-top excited about all that I discovered in this impromptu hike that was only ½ mile and about an hour long in a nearby park in the city limits! 

As I really wanted to process the hike and this peaceful mood, I stopped at another little park nearby (baseball fields and picnic tables) to use their porta-potty. I got out my sketching materials and sat down at a table under a shelter; figuring that I could sit and sketch even if it started to rain again. The ball-fields were too wet to play. The park was deserted. Alone in the quiet, I was able to relive my adventure while I sketched.

Hiking and Nature Journaling: To Learn and To Remember

I sketched for another hour and a half. I still have a few sketches to add to these pages. Looking back on the hike as I was drawing, I felt this big rush of gratitude for all that Mother Nature decided to show me today, as well as an overwhelming sense of connection — something we could all use more of. I thought about all that I would have missed if I’d been in a bigger hurry; if my hike had been about exercise rather than discovery, . . .

Oh yeah, remember that cool bug I spotted on the Queen Anne’s Lace? Turns out it was a species of lightning bug that I had never seen before! How cool is that? I see a night trip to the park in the near future!

Want more nature journaling? Follow Lisa’s Instagram page! I post hiking and nature journaling daily over there. You may also enjoy this post on Keeping a Nature Journal.