#notes/seasons #books

Down to the River and Up to the Trees: Discover the hidden nature on your doorstep

by Sue Belfrage

Summary

In a stressful, chaotic world, many of us are turning to nature for a sense of serenity and happiness. Our hectic lives and location can sometimes make us feel detached from our surroundings. But it's surprisingly simple to connect with the nature around us, whether we live in the city or the countryside.

Down to the River and Up to the Trees is brimming with practical information, intriguing quotes, and brilliant ideas. There is space, too, for you to record your thoughts and findings, whatever shape they take. This inspiring journal will transform your bond with nature and could even change your life...

Review

I don't know how I feel about the idea of this journal book being a "life-changing" experience, but I am interested in doing more than just reading it. The book is divided by "natural wonder" - Earth, Sky, Water, Wood, Feather, and Fur - and each section comprises of 1-3 page "observations" of the world and nature.

My review might be a little harsh because when I bought it, I was looking for more scientific intrigue and facts about nature, but instead what I got was folklore and unresearched notes. It's still meaningful in its way, but not what I was looking for. So many chapters started with an easily googleable question and then answered the question wrong in the author's speculation. This book was published in 2017 so they could have at least looked up some of those ideas before releasing it.

For a reader, there's enough inspiration here to give you pause and make you think and wonder about Earth's natural beauty and what it means to be part of this world. However, most of it is pretty surface level and nothing extraordinary beyond what every human observes when taking a walk at a park. While you might learn stuff and find perspective you didn't have before, for the most part the book doesn't offer a unique or breathtaking view.

This was a little disappointing, but I also recognize the journal book isn't meant to be read end to end, it's meant to inspire you to activity. I personally found it frustrating because without any seasonally-relevant organization, it was hard to figure out how to engage in the activities. After I finished reading it I marked it 'done' for the reading portion, but with the intention to explore it further by completing some activities and keeping the journal.

To accomplish this, I divided the pages into seasons (color coded tabs) and challenged myself to follow a prompt at least once a week during the given season.

JOURNALER REVIEW TBD

Quotes

Notes while reading

• I read this book end to end and cornered the activities that I wanted to do. When I finished the book, I went back through and marked them per season. (Some are more obvious than others, some I assigned a season because it didn't have a lot marked.) to mark them I added stickers - yellow (spring), green (summer), red (fall), blue (winter).
• I did it this way because the book is divided by element, not by season. so you could be reading in the middle of a snowstorm about collecting flowers in spring and what are you supposed to do with that? and how am I supposed to remember which page has an activity for the weather today? it seems very complex to just take the book as is and you really have to mark the pages if you want to do any of these activities.
  
• I've done a few of the activities so far, they are fun little ways to appreciate the environment and world around you!