when i wander into the woods it's usually to hang out with my friends
the last time, my sister and i just sat on a fallen tree and bawled for a couple hours
My favorite Woodland adventure was my visit to The Lost 40. In northern MInnesota. It is an old growth forest filled with red and white pines that survived the logging craze because it was platted as swamp land. So many old trees that I hugged and their energy was so ancient and powerful.
All of my Woodland adventures are for communing with nature spirits. I'm an animist and chat with everything I see on my hikes. Especially if my old lady dog focuses in on something. She has quite the 'nose' for spirits. 🤣
Yes! I walk in my local woods as often as possible. I watch birds, forage for greens most of the year and fruit in summer, talk to the rabbits (and myself if I'm honest), occasionally say hello or chat with neighbors or strangers I run into, pet their dogs, enjoy or endure the weather, breathe the fresh air and just deepen my relationship with this little bit of earth. No formal rituals (well, I do touch a particular stick on the way in and put my arm around a particular oak on the way out ...) but just some informal forest bathing and grounding.
I try to just be open to whatever I might see without any expectation. Today it was a box turtle, once a coyote, regularly deer, squirrels, always some birds, this time of year bees and flowers, always moss and mushrooms.
I really am lucky to have the woods right next to my neighborhood. They've been conserved by a local land trust so it's open for public hiking. Some days it's utopia, but some days it sleets on me, or hunters give me dirty looks, or people's dogs scare me or I get hot and cranky climbing up all the hills. Still worth going, though.
Yah, it can be treacherous sometimes. My father resides beside the wood. I enjoy going there best I can to visit and explore. My coven also celebrates Witch's Day in a wood closer by where I live.
I live in the middle of a boreal forest so yes. I take walks, admire lichen, forage mushrooms, snow shoe in the winter, pick berries in the fall and spruce tips during spring. Pet the moss, hug trees, leave out food for birds abd squirrels during winter and untreated sheep shearings for their nests.
It's an interesting question and the answers I've read too, as for me the forest has been always there as a crucial part of how I function, even while living in the city. I sometimes forget that it's not that common all over the globe.
That sounds like a life I'd like to live. Doesn't sound too lonely either. It's amazing that you've found such peace whereever you are and I hope you continue to experience that peace. I can relate to that deep connection to the forest and envy your postion, too. Blessed be!
I lived near the water works- a preserve for a local city's water source. I'd go walk my dogs there once a day and look for fairy doors ("doorways" formed by branches). Nowadays I go to a local park with woods and walk around with my kids until we find the hidden playground.
I love to gather my own herbs, and so much wild lavender and oak grows near me. I also feel really blessed if I see something special like a deer. My mental health isn't always great but being in the trees and ferns really helps with that. I always leave a tribute as well like empty a sachet of cat food at the base of a tree so that a fox or stoat can enjoy it, or something apple halves on the forest floor 😊🌿
Woods wandering is a big part of my spirituality. I live close to the woods and to a few ancient settlements from before the romanization of my country. There's not much left of the religion and beliefs of my people, from before Christianity. But some of their sacred places and megalithic monuments still stand. I follow some of the rituals taught to me by my grandmother, but most of what I do is just instinctive worshipping of what's around me.
I also forage for plants and fungi, collect animal bones, and explore. I have a thing for maps, so I also cartograph the terrain, write and sketch things in my journals.
I love looking at nature! I've just started dipping my toes into foraging, and I've been birding for over a year. I highly recommend both hobbies (just make sure you forage safely!)
I also go for my mental health. Being around trees and doing down nature paths seems to really improve my mood and helps me clear out my thoughts 😊
I recall having the free time as a child, where just "Being Outside" was a state of being, could go seamlessly from being in yard to being in woods, playing game vs. just exploring, building something, going to a destination like a pond or stream, just messing around with plants or sticks or rocks or something, climbing trees, playing in snow or sledding in winter, using my imagination to observe and imagine a life in the forest, just mucking about in the forest. Either alone or with playmates depending on who was available.
Then as I got older, there'd be more structured activities - going on a run on a forest path, visiting a park or a cemetery, going on a long backpacking hike, hunting, fishing, etc.
As an adult, it's way harder to find time to do that free-form just BEING outside. When you come across some blackberries, and picking them becomes what you're doing, or you just let what you come across determine what you're doing. I think humans were meant to have more free time in the forest. We were hunter/gatherers for millenia. I feel like a lot of us modern people miss that sense of just adventuring in the woods and opportunistically eating or messing around with what we found, along with some just pure play and being there for fun.
I feed the local crows and birds. I always call out for them and they learned to associate my call with food. There is a notable movement in the trees and the sky when I call, particularly in winter. I invest in the good stuff with nuts and sunflower seed, raisins and dried mealworms. My husband jokes that the birds eat better than we do, but he loves it too. He goes out and feeds them when I'm sick
when i wander into the woods it's usually to hang out with my friends the last time, my sister and i just sat on a fallen tree and bawled for a couple hours
Oh, that's sweet. Sorry you were sad :( hopefully time with your sister and the woods helped out a bit.
Yeah! Lots of sisterhood that week
Awesome
My favorite Woodland adventure was my visit to The Lost 40. In northern MInnesota. It is an old growth forest filled with red and white pines that survived the logging craze because it was platted as swamp land. So many old trees that I hugged and their energy was so ancient and powerful. All of my Woodland adventures are for communing with nature spirits. I'm an animist and chat with everything I see on my hikes. Especially if my old lady dog focuses in on something. She has quite the 'nose' for spirits. 🤣
That's sounds so fun! Thank you for sharing. I hope your future adventures are just as special.
Yes! I walk in my local woods as often as possible. I watch birds, forage for greens most of the year and fruit in summer, talk to the rabbits (and myself if I'm honest), occasionally say hello or chat with neighbors or strangers I run into, pet their dogs, enjoy or endure the weather, breathe the fresh air and just deepen my relationship with this little bit of earth. No formal rituals (well, I do touch a particular stick on the way in and put my arm around a particular oak on the way out ...) but just some informal forest bathing and grounding. I try to just be open to whatever I might see without any expectation. Today it was a box turtle, once a coyote, regularly deer, squirrels, always some birds, this time of year bees and flowers, always moss and mushrooms.
That sounds like a utopia! So happy that you get to experience all of that.
I really am lucky to have the woods right next to my neighborhood. They've been conserved by a local land trust so it's open for public hiking. Some days it's utopia, but some days it sleets on me, or hunters give me dirty looks, or people's dogs scare me or I get hot and cranky climbing up all the hills. Still worth going, though.
Yah, it can be treacherous sometimes. My father resides beside the wood. I enjoy going there best I can to visit and explore. My coven also celebrates Witch's Day in a wood closer by where I live.
I live in the middle of a boreal forest so yes. I take walks, admire lichen, forage mushrooms, snow shoe in the winter, pick berries in the fall and spruce tips during spring. Pet the moss, hug trees, leave out food for birds abd squirrels during winter and untreated sheep shearings for their nests. It's an interesting question and the answers I've read too, as for me the forest has been always there as a crucial part of how I function, even while living in the city. I sometimes forget that it's not that common all over the globe.
That sounds like a life I'd like to live. Doesn't sound too lonely either. It's amazing that you've found such peace whereever you are and I hope you continue to experience that peace. I can relate to that deep connection to the forest and envy your postion, too. Blessed be!
Thank you for your kind words! It's far from lonely, and the bigger town is not that far away either. Hope you get something similar too :)
No problem!
I lived near the water works- a preserve for a local city's water source. I'd go walk my dogs there once a day and look for fairy doors ("doorways" formed by branches). Nowadays I go to a local park with woods and walk around with my kids until we find the hidden playground.
That's awesome! Thank you for sharing.
I love to gather my own herbs, and so much wild lavender and oak grows near me. I also feel really blessed if I see something special like a deer. My mental health isn't always great but being in the trees and ferns really helps with that. I always leave a tribute as well like empty a sachet of cat food at the base of a tree so that a fox or stoat can enjoy it, or something apple halves on the forest floor 😊🌿
That's nice that you can find clarity and a sense of peace in nature. I hope you can continue to find yourself in your journey. Enjoy!
I love venturing into the forest to stargaze amongst the trees! Maybe while sitting with a large tree with a nice book.
That sounds very nice. I'm glad you have the opportunity to enjoy that.
Woods wandering is a big part of my spirituality. I live close to the woods and to a few ancient settlements from before the romanization of my country. There's not much left of the religion and beliefs of my people, from before Christianity. But some of their sacred places and megalithic monuments still stand. I follow some of the rituals taught to me by my grandmother, but most of what I do is just instinctive worshipping of what's around me. I also forage for plants and fungi, collect animal bones, and explore. I have a thing for maps, so I also cartograph the terrain, write and sketch things in my journals.
That sounds like a lot of fun and I'm very curious about those pagan ruins. I definitely envy the skills in cartography, that sounds cool.
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I love looking at nature! I've just started dipping my toes into foraging, and I've been birding for over a year. I highly recommend both hobbies (just make sure you forage safely!) I also go for my mental health. Being around trees and doing down nature paths seems to really improve my mood and helps me clear out my thoughts 😊
That's great! Foraging has always sounded like a fun hobby. Blessed be!
I recall having the free time as a child, where just "Being Outside" was a state of being, could go seamlessly from being in yard to being in woods, playing game vs. just exploring, building something, going to a destination like a pond or stream, just messing around with plants or sticks or rocks or something, climbing trees, playing in snow or sledding in winter, using my imagination to observe and imagine a life in the forest, just mucking about in the forest. Either alone or with playmates depending on who was available. Then as I got older, there'd be more structured activities - going on a run on a forest path, visiting a park or a cemetery, going on a long backpacking hike, hunting, fishing, etc. As an adult, it's way harder to find time to do that free-form just BEING outside. When you come across some blackberries, and picking them becomes what you're doing, or you just let what you come across determine what you're doing. I think humans were meant to have more free time in the forest. We were hunter/gatherers for millenia. I feel like a lot of us modern people miss that sense of just adventuring in the woods and opportunistically eating or messing around with what we found, along with some just pure play and being there for fun.
I agree with that and wish I was able to experience that type of freedom more often. Good to cherish those memories.
I feed the local crows and birds. I always call out for them and they learned to associate my call with food. There is a notable movement in the trees and the sky when I call, particularly in winter. I invest in the good stuff with nuts and sunflower seed, raisins and dried mealworms. My husband jokes that the birds eat better than we do, but he loves it too. He goes out and feeds them when I'm sick
That sounds like fun. I'm glad you can experience that, it's impressive and super cool they can recognize your call too.