Get Out!

red maple bud

I'm adding a new feature to The Firefly:  Get Out!

Each week I'll drop an idea for getting outside--with or without kids--and connecting to nature.  

Here's the first idea:  bud.

bud¹

bəd/

noun

1. 1.

   a compact knoblike growth on a plant that develops into a leaf, flower, or shoot.

   synonyms:

   sprout, shoot, blossom;  plumule "fresh buds"

Trees make buds at the very ends of their branches. Buds set in the fall and sit, waiting all winter. What are they waiting for? Come spring, things start to change in our Minnesota world. Come a very early spring, things start happening faster. We just sprang forward, losing an hour of precious sleep. We're waking in darkness again, but at 7pm it's still light! That light is a catalyst for change. Chickens will lay more eggs now. We'll get more vitamin D. Plants are getting the message:  wake up!  Throw in some super-naturally warm weather and it's a recipe for accelerated change. Shakespeare wrote about "the darling buds of May," well we're more than a month ahead of schedule. Now is the perfect time to check out what's happening in the world of trees.

"And then the day came,
when the risk
to remain tight
in a bud
was more painful
than the risk
it took
to Blossom."

Anaïs Nin

river birch bud

Take a walk around your neighborhood and try to notice buds. Trees, bushes, shrubs-- they all have them. And they are all a little different. Notice shape, color, texture, smell. All of that is going to change rapidly in the next week or so, so try to re-visit the same buds and look out for transformation.

oak buds

If you can take along a small notepad or journal, try to stop and sketch what you see. Mindfulness begins with noticing. Stop and look. 

pussy willow buds blooming

Before you draw, give your attention to one little bud for 1 minute. 
Try two minutes. 
Can you stretch it to 3?  
Now draw for 2 minutes. Pay attention. 
Now look for another minute. 
Draw for 1 more minute. 

staghorn sumac bud

Keep walking and repeat, or not. When you get home, take a look at your drawing. Jot down a word to describe each aspect--

shape:

color:

texture:

smell:

Could you visit the same tree once or twice a week for the next three weeks?  Maybe the tree, or you will change...

red maple blossoms!