The days get a little shorter, the shadows a little longer. The sounds of summer slowly shift as birds begin to migrate, new insects emerge and mature, and the air itself conducts sound just a little differently.
Watch and listen often enough and you notice what’s changing. There’s no hurry, but one day something will stand out. Note it but don’t linger on it too long. Let it be as it is. Come back to it tomorrow to see it again – or the next day, whenever you pass by it again.
We’re letting about half of our acreage grow wild. We watch how the fields change from week to week. Green in spring, blackberries in summer, a bouquet fall blooms, sticks and snow in winter. The squirrels bury black walnuts everywhere. They forget where they’re planted, so they grow into what will become walnut groves, standing beside maple, oak, and Osage orange. It’s a habitat for wildlife, too. Familiar and yet different every day, every season, every year.
This week’s practice
Look at something you pass by every day. Each day, notice what you see. If it’s cloudy or raining, what are the patterns of light or water? If it’s sunny, what are the shapes of shadows? How does it change from season to season. It’s amazing how an ordinary object can look completely different from one season to the next but still be familiar.