This past weekend, we went up to Ben Haven for Fourth of July, and it was so relaxing and amazing. I saw an unripe blackberry on the wall by the driveway and it sent me on a bit of a naturalist journey! I went around and found blackberries- some of them ripe! - and I feel like my eyes have been opened. There are blackberries all over the paths up there in the mountains. I know what the leaves look like!! I got a few scratches from the brambles 😬... the whole thing gave me so much joy. Idk why it made me so happy but I loved it so much. My naturalist journey has been slow... I remember learning different types of trees literally only three years ago. (Which might be surprising because I give off strong *~nature girl~* vibes.) In general, I am not very observant and I didn’t know really where to start, but I started slow and now feel like I add on one little layer at a time. I can recognize some birds by sight now, and at least one bird by its call. I know the main NC tree types, and how to figure out the type if I don’t know it off the top of my head. I get overwhelmed not knowing everything right away, but I do love learning that I have my whole life ahead of me to learn these little bits of nature.
