2020 has been hard for everyone. From canceled activities to isolation from friends and family, to record setting hurricane and fire seasons across the country. Despite all of this year’s COVID-, environmental- and political-craziness, there are still many things I am thankful for. In addition to the Thanksgiving toad I came across on my rainy walk this morning (see cover photo above), below are just ten of the nature-related things I’m grateful for this year. 

1. Abundant and beautiful local conservation lands. When almost every activity was canceled and everything destination was closed, nature remained open. Local conservation organizations like MassAudubon, the Bourne Conservation Trust, and the 300 Committee manage and protect tracts of land in an array of sizes, hosting a diversity of habitats and wildlife. Click here for some inspiration for future nature walks and trail locations. 

2. The time to take it all in. I’ve been working from home since mid-March, which has provided me with unique opportunity to observe the birds and animals that live in and pass through my yard. One of this year’s highlights was watching a coyote trot through my front yard in the middle of the day while I was working at my desk. Even when I wasn’t able to be out in nature, I could still be close to it.  

3. Local diversity, as close as my own backyard. At the start of the year, I started keeping a tally of what bird species I observed in the yard each week. My initial goal was to figure out when key migratory birds, like ruby-throated hummingbirds and dark-eyed juncos, showed up and left. In the end, however, I ended up with a much more complete picture of the bird diversity in my yard: as of this week (week 48 of 2020), I’ve recorded 68 different species of birds. These ranged from year-round residents like black-capped chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, and wild turkeys, to those that I only saw once as they migrated through (e.g., a black and white warbler, a northern parula, and a warblering vireo). 

4. The Upper Cape Naturalists Club. When I started this group a couple years ago, I had no idea how it would go, what it would turn into, or if anyone would even be interested. But this year, despite having forego our monthly meetings at the library, our membership continues to grow and we’ve found a way to continue gathering safely in small groups to continue sharing our knowledge and love of nature with each other. I cherish the wonderful friends, naturalists and naturalists-to-be that I have met through this group. 

5. Consistently encountering new things. Even with all the time I spend wandering the forest and exploring natural places, I still regularly come across new discoveries. Just in the past week alone, I’ve seen three new life birds (a western kingbird, a purple sandpiper and a merlin), and I’ve identified the tiny little insects that have been all over my back fence the last couple weeks as globular springtails in the family Sminthuridae.  

6. Completing levels I and II of the Kamana Independent Study Program. Level I was fairly simple, but provided a good idea of the types of activities you’d be expected to complete throughout the rest of the program. Level II took a great deal of time over approximately 6 months, but was well worth it. The program not only got me outside more often, but it also had be moving through nature with a new sense of awareness, allowing me to notice things I’d overlooked before. For example, by engaging all my senses, I discovered a coyote den and a great horned owl nest in a nearby conservation area, both of which I must have overlooked numerous times. I’m currently taking a short break from the program, but I’m very much looking forward to undertaking Level III next year. 

7. Squirrels. I know, I know – they’re the bane of many who try to keep them away from their bird feeders. But they’re one of my favorite animals to observe. They are expressive, playful, social and acrobatic. And perhaps most importantly, gray squirrels are ever present (in my yard anyway), so I’m never at a loss for something entertaining to watch. I’ve joked a number of times this year that I’d like to write a book on squirrels. Who knows, maybe I’ll actually take that on one of these days.

8. Good books. I always seem to be in the middle of at least a couple books. The topics vary, but in terms of nature and science writing, here are a few of my recent favorites. The first two, Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, both masterfully combine detailed botanical science with a deeper connection with nature that resonated strongly with me. A third, Life Everlasting by Bernd Heinrich, explored a side of the natural world not often given much air time: death, and how in nature it is transformed into other forms of life. 

9. Rediscovering my love of drawing. Until going away to college, drawing was one of my favorite hobbies. Once at college, I rarely set aside the time and I generally just got out of the habit. About three years ago, however, I came across Lara Gastinger’s Instagram page and loved the idea of keeping what she refers to as a perpetual nature journal. Sometimes I may only have time to add one small drawing a week, but that’s once a week more than I was drawing before. This practice not only reconnects me with a childhood hobby that I love, but helps me to slow down and truly observe the details of the natural world around me. 

10. A partner who loves spending time in nature as much as I do. I’ve met a lot of people who like to go for hikes or are interested in birding. But prior to meeting my boyfriend, I’d never met anyone else who preferred spending an afternoon identifying new wildflowers and lichens (we call it botanizing). Whether we’re looking for a rare bird, foraging for wild edibles to add to dinner, or taking a walk down the middle of a river (I draw while he fly fishes), I’m grateful to have someone to share these experiences and learn together with. When we started tromping through the woods together almost five years ago, neither of us knew much about what we were looking at. But we’ve come quite a long way together. 

What are you grateful for this year?