Spring is the perfect time for getting up close and personal with nature. Unlike later in the year when gardens and hedgerows are adorned with blossoms, bright flowers and expanses of green, in early spring you have to really look to spot all the small beginnings of beauty, all the tiny possibilities emerging from seemingly dried out twigs and all the unfurlings of potential and change.
It’s the perfect time for going exploring with a magnifying glass and gaining a more intimate view of all the wonders of spring. I have two that I recommend, the first is an average magnifier, bought from an art shop for about £1.50 and useful for getting an overview of leaves, buds and insects. The second is called a loupe and is used by jewellers for closely examining gem stones. You have to get really close when using a loupe but it’s great for examining little details of a plant like veins, hairs on stems or stamens.
On a pleasantly warm spring day you can pass hours like this and the rewards are as innumerable as the marvels themselves. It’s a wonderful activity to involve children in and such an inspiring way of appreciating a whole new dimension of the natural world. You can start to connect with things as if a much smaller creature and your imagination is fed by this new way of looking. Each tiny hair on the gooseberry leaves becomes defined…
Each bud so vibrant and alive in its becoming. Someone else was also appreciating this one.
Each new leaf displays its uniqueness. Veins, ridges, hairs, colour variations all become dramatic parts of a landscape when viewed so intensely.
Tiny seedlings become like little trees.
And there is enough to wonder at in a single bud to keep you busy all morning.
Looking closely at a leaf displays its many forms and colours. What first appears to be just red and green also has shades of yellows and purples, browns and blues.
Like the Frech soldier and writer Xavier de Maistre, who, in 1794, wrote the quirkily charming Voyage autour de ma chambre (Voyage around my bedroom) in which he explored the confines of his own room then wrote about it as if it were a great travel epic, we too can become strangers in a familiar land.
You can engage in this voyage even if you don’t have a garden of your own, as simply looking at a few houseplants or a window box can become a great adventure of discovery. Failing even that you can plot adventures through the un-explored territory of your fridge’s vegetable compartment. How marvellous is this cabbage? How worthy of wonder and gratitude.
When we start to look closer, appreciate the small and the overlooked, then we can never be bored, never uninspired and never ungrateful again.
Absolutely Lucinda,
There is so much out there if we only open our eyes.
Oh the joys of nature, close up and personal is the best.
Beautiful detail in some of the images…..love them.
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Hi Cheryl,
I know you too are an appreciator of all that is subtle and unique in nature and you always express it so beautifully!
x
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Thank you for the reminder to shift perspective every once in a while. Lovely post!
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Thanks dk!
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Oh so true! I love this time of year because it does beg one to look close – to see the buds on the trees, and the little sprouts shooting up. Today I saw my first coltsfoot flower, which is the true herald of spring here 🙂 Your photos truly capture the magic that is to be found when one takes a closer look. I love that bit about the Voyage autour de ma chambre – there really is no reason ever to be bored, is there?
Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
D
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Oh wonderful, I haven’t spotted any coltsfoot yet. Though I havent been up on the Downs for a week or so.
I thought you might appreciate the Voyage autour de ma chambre, it always makes me chortle to myself. Perhaps one day you might treat us to a voyage autour de votre kitchen? (Sorry my French is abominable :))
xxxx
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Oh, thanks for reminding me about magnifying glasses and loupes! I’d thought last summer that I should get them, but then over the winter it drifted down the priority list somewhere slightly above clean out under my bed….
Since Spring starts tomorrow, I’d say it’s time to get them this week!
Michael
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Yes do! They aren’t expensive and its amazing what a difference they make… or maybe that’s just my eyesight. 🙂
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The ‘secret’ garden has always been my favorite. In the woods here we have twin flowers, minute, pink bell shaped flowers on a tiny single stalk so fine the flowers seem to float above the moss. Same with western star flowers and evergreen violets. This is why I love to walk to work; otherwise I’d fly by in my car and miss all the beauty in the tiny places. Thanks for reminding me. Here it is still snowing, but soon…
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How beautiful, you have conjured up a lovely image in my mind. Enjoy the last of the snow, the promise of spring awaits!
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Wonder-ful writing and images Lucinda! I am blessed with very short sight so hardly even need a loupe to see things really close – it’s a magical world indeed!
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Ha ha, I am a little long sighted so maybe that’s why I like the magnifiers so much!
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I love this time of year, every time I leave the house or walk round my garden there are new leaves and blossoms; every day there is something new. There is definately magic in the air.
Hope you had a wonderful Spring Equinox yesterday! x
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I know, it really is so different every day isn’t it. After the winter months of stillness it almost seems shocking to have so much going on! Spring equinox was lovely here, despite a gloomy day it was a bright starlit night. I hope you also had a wonderful spring celebration. x
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