The Art of Noticing

Recently, I reread one of my favorite books from childhood: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews. I wanted to remember why I enjoyed this book so much as a kid, and why it had left such an impression on me all these years later.

Something that really spoke to me, within just the first fifty or so pages, was a chapter on the art of noticing things. Our imaginations and childlike wonder of the world seem to diminish as we age. Following the chapter within the book, we should take time to step back and truly notice things.

For the better part of the past three years, I’ve dedicated myself to this art of noticing things. In my attempt to reach 1000 observations on iNaturalist (currently sitting at a firm 957!) I’ve started walking with my eyes on the ground, in the sky, scanning below the water of murky ponds. While my interests lie in insects and birds, I’m no stranger to picking out and identifying a set of small berries hidden in the underbrush, or spotting a splotch of colorful flowers in the distance on a sunny hillside.

Genus Centuarium

These are the easier things to notice, perhaps, as they don’t move about to flit from place to place like birds, insects, or many animals might do when observing them. They are stationary, and will stay right where they are for you to look at and, hopefully, appreciate.

Once you’ve mastered noticing flowers, berries, and even mushrooms, try your hand at birds, insects, mammals, and even reptiles and amphibians. Your eyes are typically your best sense in doing so, but also use your ears: many species of birds have very distinct and recognizable songs that vary from mating songs to alarm calls. Crickets, katydids and cicadas create a variety of noises throughout the summer, especially at night. If you’re near a body of water, or even a forest, listen for frogs singing or croaking on the shore or in the trees. You may not see them, but they’re there! And just hearing them is part of noticing things!

Bugs in general are probably the most difficult to notice— small and camouflaged most of the time, one can walk the length of a trail without much more than swatting at a pesky mosquito. Many people also aren’t fond of bugs and would rather NOT notice them. And that’s okay! I would say to at least keep in mind how important they are to the world around you— from pollinating, to nutrient cycling, to important members in multiple food chains. You’ll often find dragonflies and damselflies around bodies of water, as that’s where they lay their eggs. Butterflies and moths, as well as many flies, can be spotted around flowers and tall grasses. Beetles are abundant and can be found pretty much anywhere, but I like looking for them under decaying logs or on their host plants.

Summer Azure, Celastrina neglecta

The outside world is probably the best place to go to start noticing the things around you, but you can do the same even inside your home. Bugs are no strangers to wandering the floorboards or scuttling along the walls of the basement. Cellar spiders, house centipedes, isopods and many other arthropods can be found around your home, if you’re brave enough to look for them!

From your window you may be able to see birds flying by quickly or resting in high branches. Squirrels and deer are also common visitors to backyards, and their behaviors can be fun and interesting to observe from a distance.

With the assumption that weather is favorable (or even when it isn’t, sometimes! You’ll find different species when you go out in the rain or snow!) I like to go out and explore at least once or twice a week. I’ve found that being more in tune with nature and my surroundings has both improved my mental health and given me new interests to look into— from foraging to entomology and taxonomy. In fact, that’s how we got here, to this very blog! I wanted to share my love of noticing nature and experiencing the world with others in the hopes of inspiring you to do the same.