Renewal with Fire

03/12/2025

Last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in my first prairie burn! This amazing process is a Spring ritual here in Iowa.

Prairie burns help to clear away invasive species and promote native plant growth. Those grasses with their extensive roots like some disruption to stimulate growth. The burn clears dead plant material away to allow sunshine to reach the earth and releases nutrients. The whole process promotes diversity in the plants leading to a healthy ecosystem of insects and animals that depend on them.

The fire itself is such a dramatic experience of cleansing to make way for renewal. Fire can be destructive, so there are plenty of controls in place. In this case, boundaries of snow piles and muddy lanes between the fields blocked the possibility of spread (also alerting the fire department ahead of time just in case!) We had rakes and paddles as well as water tanks at the ready to guide the fire. Creating a perimeter and burning toward the center is an important technique that helps control the spread.

Watching this powerful fire spread, clearing the way for new growth was an inspiring way to welcome spring and think of my own needs going forward. What needs to be cleansed from my thought process, attitudes, and habits? How can I come out the other side refreshed and renewed, ready for new growth and experiences?

What Spring cleaning - literally or philosophically - will help you this year?

Nature Gratitude with the Elements

02/28/2025

I have been spending some quiet time in nature in the high desert of Arizona this week. This unique landscape is a perfect reminder of the gratitude that I feel for the natural world.

The Earth element is stunning with granite boulders scattered over the mountainous terrain. It is a reminder of the vast time it has taken for the Water element to erode them into fascinating shapes and patterns. Looking closely at the lichens on the rocks, I can see how the intermittent presence of water pooling in cracks and dips on the boulders creates rings of growth and stasis as the lichen lives and rests with the cycles of rainfall.

I see evidence of the Air element in the abundance of lichens on the rocks and trees. Without roots, they absorb most of their nutrients from the air. The presence of lichens is an ecological indicator of good air quality.

Lichens (a symbiosis of algae and fungi) require sunlight for photosynthesis, bringing in the Fire element. The algae create carbohydrates that feed the fungi. Some lichens can survive in strong sunlight as these desert ones do, while others prefer shade. The colors we see in different lichen species indicate cellular protection from sun exposure.

I am grateful for the presence of this fascinating cooperative relationship and the reminder of the interconnectiveness of all things.

Winter's Pause

01/03/2025

After the hullabaloo of the holidays, as we move into the new year, I find January brings the opportunity to slow down, to pause. The whole world seems to be taking a deep breath in, holding it, and waiting for Spring to burst forth with new growth and activity.

Deep breathing and well-deserved relaxation during this reflective time give us a chance to dream and look forward to something new.

Allow yourself to be held in this quiet space and enjoy some restful deep breathing in Winter's Pause.

Open through January, join me for some quiet contemplation in the 4-week class:

Planning with the Seasons guides students through a process of personal Reflection, Review, and Renewal by exploring and building connections with the cycles of nature. Living with these rhythms of the seasons benefits self-care, personal growth, and relationships as we learn about our own nature.

Learn more about upcoming courses to support self-care and nature connection.

Embracing the Dark

12/15/2024

In the Northern Hemisphere, the deepest darkness of Midwinter is fast approaching. Winter Solstice, December 21 at 4:21am (Eastern Time US), is the point where we turn back to the light of the sun!

Darkness holds its own kind of beauty and wonder. It is the only time we can see the distant stars and mysterious shadow patterns from the light of the moon.

These long nights are a good reminder to slow down, to catch up, to breathe, and to reflect.

Enjoy some time outside at night with the flashlight turned off. Let your eyes adapt to the darkness and find your way using other senses. How do the creatures of the night navigate?

Here is my favorite poem for this time of year:

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

- Wendell Berry

Supporting Community

11/06/2024

During this Autumn season of gathering, celebrating the harvest, and sharing stories of the day, we are reminded to take care of each other. Creating simple routines of daily self-care, from deep breathing to expressions of gratitude, enables us to spread care out into our communities.

Modern society tends towards isolation. Even with “social” media, we are isolated in our homes, our bubbles, in our phones, and our minds. Now more than ever, it is important to connect with our communities. Get outside, connect with nature, find a hiking club, a knitting club, a reading group, or a parenting coop, people with similar interests and ideals, values and goals.

Seek out something that brings people together for conversation and projects. What can a group accomplish that our singular households cannot?

Look to your community for support, look for those who need support.

Honoring the Dead

10/31/2024

As we move through the cycles of the year and of nature, it is fascinating to ponder the many holidays with similar seasonal themes that have developed over thousands of years of human experience worldwide.

This season, with the plants dying back, leaves falling from the trees, and the daylight hours growing shorter, brings a time of reflection and remembrance.

Many cultures honor ancestors this time of year. Our Korean friends shared that the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated around the Harvest Moon (usually September or early October), is when they traditionally take food and drink to the graveyards to honor loved ones who have passed on. When visiting an old family gravesite in Washington, my family takes time clearing weeds and tidying the area. There can be a soothing effect to this intentional honoring of those who came before us. I love these connections and similar expressions of remembrance all over the world.

Halloween, Samhain ("Sow-win"), and All Souls Day occur at the end of October and the beginning of November, a point halfway between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. It is seen as a key turning point, moving from the light of summer into the darker days of winter. During this time, when people often feel a closer connection to the dead, they can acknowledge the uncertainties and fears we hold around the spirit world and death, while also remembering and honoring those who have gone before.

The Mexican celebration honoring the dead, Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), begins November 1 and goes overnight into November 2. This celebration existed in ancient Aztec times with skull imagery and customs of bringing food and drink to graveyards in honor of the dead. Combined with All Souls Day by the Spanish Catholic conquistadors, it has evolved over time to include the elaborate parades, costumes, and sugar skulls we think of today.

For Día de Los Muertos, families create an altar or ofrenda in their homes with photos and objects that remind them of loved ones who have passed. Often, they place sugar skulls on the altar with the names of family members. These skulls can be decorated as humans or animals, with bright yellow and orange marigolds featuring prominently.

One year, my children and I made sugar skulls and placed them on our nature table. We honored our two cats that had died over the previous year. This was my girls' first experience with the death of loved ones and a good opportunity to add remembrance to our celebration. It is a lovely tradition that brings out the deeper meanings lost in our modern celebrations of Halloween.

What traditions do you have for remembrance and honoring the cycles of life and death?

Autumn - Season of Change

09/18/2024

Autumn Equinox is September 22, 2024!

_DSC7008

This marks a point in the year - opposite to Spring - where days and nights are equal in length. With the leaves turning colors and falling to the ground, this time of year is a definite reminder that in life, as in nature, things are ever-changing.

Over the next weeks, for many of us, the final harvests will be made in our gardens. Those fall squashes and gourds are ready to become soups, pies, and festive decorations. A few flowering plants linger into the frost, but many are already dying back, adding to the compost of the earth to feed next year's growth.

Cool breezes replace the summer heat. This is a time of slowing down and taking time for ourselves. Congratulate yourself for dedicating some time to self-care this season and beyond!

What do you notice in this Season of Change?

Natural Cycles Design Certification

07/25/2024

This year, I had the opportunity to participate in a certification for teaching, learning, and living with the cycles of nature in a Designing with Natural Cycles Masterclass by Jon Young with several guest speakers. They took us around the wheel and the 8-Directions (click here for the simple version,) giving examples of practical applications from nature camps for children and adults, teaching and educational flow, wedding planning, corporate organization, and establishing peace and supportive roles in communities of all kinds. I have used these techniques and principles in my teaching for several years in herbal medicine, self-care, and veterinary topics, and I am excited to incorporate new ideas.

Every year in my Self-Care Through the Cycles of Nature course, I find ways to deepen this process and bring relevance to caring for ourselves, connecting with nature, and sharing those ideas in our communities and the world. Combining this with research and principles of self-care known to alleviate burnout and compassion fatigue, my intention is to facilitate caregivers in creating their own pathways to healing and resilience.

We live surrounded by these cycles, often oblivious to their influences and potential for healing. Simple activities and explorations can help to ground us and expand our perspectives, opening the possibilities for wonder, gratitude, curiosity, and caring that extend beyond ourselves to our children, elders, friends, and families.

Registration for the 9-month Self-Care course is open!

Sign up by August 15th to receive your gift packet in time for the September 1 starting date.

Free Mini Nature Journal Class

06/30/2024

Days 1-10 of the Mini Nature Journaling class are now available!

Starting on Summer Solstice, June 20, I have been uploading one journal prompt daily. There is a PDF sample journal for taking notes, and you can even create a mini journal if you are feeling crafty!

This has been a fun project for me. I am excited to share it and to spread some mindful connection to nature. Over 10 days we explore a variety of aspects of nature, each one opening up avenues for deeper dives into learning and appreciating the wonders of the outside world.

I happened to be visiting my 86-yr-old mother in Arizona during this time. She was an attentive student, sharing her observations every day, writing in her journal, and teaching me lessons she learned from her tracker father.

I see this project as something that can be shared with children or elders, family, and friends, to encourage people to get outdoors and experience our interconnections with nature.

This free class is available year-round.
Sign up any time!

Nature Connection for Therapy and Wellness

05/28/2024

Recently I had a veterinary appointment with a long-time client who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago. She is still able to live at home with her partner and cat. She recognized us and understood why we were there in this familiar veterinary home visit that we have repeated for many years. She has difficulty finding words now, and conversation is limited, but our long-time connection helped her to be at ease.

We had a lovely conversation about the birds at her feeder. As she was telling me about a bird she had seen, she pointed and said, “That one but more red.” I supplied the words – cardinal, red male – and she said “YES!” with a big smile as the words and thoughts returned for a bit. She told me how much she loves birds and horses, which we have always talked about on our visits. And she mimed and pointed to her favorite things in her garden. She has a lifetime of nature connection that she is pulling from, and it continues to bring her joy. The way her partner intentionally provides these opportunities for interaction with the world around her and stimulation for conversation is beautiful.

My father had Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementia and was in memory care for the last part of his life. He was also a nature lover and the facility provided visiting goats and horses along with a raised herb garden perfect for wheelchair access. He enjoyed exploring the plants and interacting with the animals, even when human interactions became more challenging.

Nature connection, for many of us, is a balm, a salve for our wounds inside and out. I find that intentionally developing a deeper connection to nature and an understanding of the interrelationships we have with all living things feeds my soul. In times of difficulty, the comfort of that larger world is there to reassure that nature is tenacious, life returns, possibly in a different form, and it is worth protecting, nurturing, and connecting with. Creating natural areas for elders and children, in workplaces and homes, and preserving wild areas for our fellow beings is a satisfying way to care for ourselves and others.

What Nature do you Nurture?

Kris August

Celebrating the Interconnectedness of Life