bemuzin

Thank you, Damyanti, Dan, Paul, Peter and Sharukh for co-hosting this Blogfest.

I apologize I can’t figure out how to link to the participants’ list, but you can find it by linking to one of the co-hosts above.

Did anyone else drive yourself crazy selecting a Cherished Object?

I’ve been channeling Goldilocks.

“THAT Cherished Object is:

• Too Hot
• Too Cold
• Too many words
• Too personal
• Too …”

This prompt – Cherished Object – provoked much reflection. Taken separately, ‘cherished’ and ‘object’ are easy to identify. I cherish my family, my health, my country. I possess objects that bring me pleasure, assistance, meaning.

But what would I grab if I was running from my burning house? Do I cherish any object that much?

Earlier in life, I could have easily selected specific objects I cherish because the tangible objects themselves mattered. Memories were slowly being created, and my future seemed endless.

Now it’s as if the decades, your gifts, my acquisitions, and all my experiences have merged. When I look around my house at art on walls, treasures on shelves, my dog-eared books, my smudged CDs – no matter the object, I am unable to isolate one to write about.

What I realize is all those objects – cumulatively – reflect what I truly cherish.

Nature.

Can “Nature” be an object?

I’ve loved nature since I first broke apart an earthworm for a writing utensil; picked up a stone from our driveway for Hop Scotch; watched Dad reveal the puzzle of Snake Grass.

Boulder Garden

My most Cherished Objects are talisman rocks, pocketed pieces of wood, dried flowers and pressed plants I’ve collected throughout six decades of life. I’ve used nature in so many hobbies – gardening, landscaping, papermaking, the study of herbs, building garden art, hiking, biking, mapping, rearranging stone cairns (zen) in my living room.

Boulder Patio Art

I’m never happier than when I am ‘gathering’ somewhere on a trail while brilliant sunshine blesses my endeavor. Don’t worry; I practice ‘take least; leave no’ and am careful not to spread seeds where I shouldn’t.

Sorting My Finds

As with previous hobbies, whatever new ones I take up eventually incorporate my nature goodies (can I play the keyboard using stones for fingers?). Two of my newest hobbies – Mapping and Tangling – have not only wound their way to each other, but they’ve linked themselves to Nature.

Echinacea and Grasses

Topographic maps are a ‘tangle’ themselves, already filled with iconic patterned symbols.

Juan de Gabaldon Grant

A couple years ago, I acquired seven large topo maps from the local branch of the Federal Bureau of Land Management intending to use them in an art project. They sat in the closet until I started tangling. They moved out of the closet, but still sat patiently until last weekend after I spent 10 days outdoors, coming home with a few new nature treasures (and a few skin irritations from my light foraging).

Topo: Santa Cruz Reservoir

Nature = Cherished Objects

Topo: Canjilon Creek

Nature + ZenTangles + Topographic Maps = NaZenMaps

Topo: Brew Hill

All Cherished in fewer than 500 words (unless you count photo text!).