Does having an encounter with nature lift your spirits?

Absolutely !
Went for a nice hike on a little bit of the Appalachian trail then for a dip in a small lake not far East from the Hudson River. The air, the light, the sight of things that aren’t all in 1280×1024 or 1080p resolution I find refreshing and restoring.
I forget, too, and sometimes have to dragged out to do something, but I usually appreciate it.

Yes, daily. I go out each morning with a cup of freshly brewed Earl Grey tea, and Milo and I have a little gambol. At this time of year, there are the riveting issues of how much the tomatoes on the vine have grown, what flowers have opened up over night, what has set seed pods and what the cloud formations predict.

Then we have the tick inspection. Milo abides.

Well, I just came in from an hours bike ride, through some country lanes, past a farm & river & woodland reserve I feel elated & fresh as a daisy…. Now I must clean all the manure I picked up off my bike, who have thought about combining cycle ways & bridle ways :-/
Mud I can cope with Lol….

At 7:00 this morning I watched as a group of egrets had some kind of committee meeting, complete with huffy stalk-outs and lots of loud arguing (they sound remarkably like rutting elks). After about 10 minutes they settled down. I wish I knew what they had decided.

Absolutely. My ‘church’ is the church of nature. Many know that I live on 5 acres in the hills of Northern Ca. A very pastoral setting. I am surrounded by nature and all sorts of wildlife. I keep a pair of binoculars on my deck and in my garage ready and waiting. lol

Recently I was watching a nest of baby Robins in a big Oak tree about 30 yards off my deck. I had a birdseye veiw of the parents feeding the nestlings/fledglings. It was great fun watching the little family launch, no casualties, yay!

Right now I was just enjoying a pair of western bluebirds taking a dip in the stone birdbath on my front hill and one of the first things I do as soon as I am up and after letting my geese out of their barn, is to check out my blooming morning glories that twine around the antique graveyard fencing on my patio. This morning there are scads of white ones with purple dots and a profuse explosion of some rose colored ones.

They were all volunteers from last year, so it’s fun to see what sort of hybrids might pop up.

I think watching animals helps put our human lives in perspective, every living thing is working towards it’s own version of survival and satisfaction. The Squirrels struggle is no more and no less than our own. There is a unity to be found in nature that resonates within us the truth of the interconnection of everything.

I have been staying up til well after midnight lately, the summer nights here are spectacular, total silence except for the occasional hoot of an owl or the coyotes whooping it up in the woods, the stars are mind blowing. Nothing brings me more happiness than my little Walden Pond abode. :-)

Yes. We see birds, deer, turtles, in our backyard and love it. Not to mention the trees.

@Coloma Yes! Witnessing animals is such an enriching experience. Gets us out of our human-centric heads. Amen to a church like yours, it does not get more divine on the physical plane.

Yes! That is why I try to get out there in the thick of it everyday,rain or shine.I always take my camera with me too because I do see alot out there.
Seeing things like these baby Cedar Waxwings was a very cool thing for me as they are my favorite bird.
They were so sweet! I was lucky to get the chance to photograph them:)
The other day,I saw a red fox sunning itself in a field.I was not quick enough to get a photo.
It was beautiful! :)

Yes, watching wildlife in it’s natural habitat can be very therapeutic. I enjoy something as simple as feeding ducks/geese. I took the dawg for her walk this afternoon & we came across this deer. I mean, it was gone in a flash & my pooch was a little startled, but it was still a welcome sight. I’d love to spot some otters in the wild one day, coz I fink dey cute.

Yes, all the time. I might be feeling all down or depressed, but seeing birds land on the roof outside my window, eat the stuff I’ve thrown there, really makes me feel nice and smiley again.
I also see grey squirrels on my roof too, and that is something exciting.

I went for a cycle ride on this sunny and showery day and stopped by the edge of dark waters close to a marsh. There were tall green reeds at the far side of the water and little insects were busy on the surface. I stopped for a while to enjoy the silence and to watch the movement of the wind upon the water. Nothing was happening. Everything was happening.

Just sitting on my deck I can see all kinds of wildlife….hummingbirds, Ducks, Cedar Wax Wings, chipmunks, hawks and one really brave deer who if it gets any closer to my garden will get a taste of “My little friend”!!

Yes, most definitely. I love to sit by my window watching various birds eating from our bird feeder. It takes me away from the trivial stuff.

Just this morning, I walked through part of the American University campus and saw several massively beautiful oak trees. It’s an amazing thing to behold! : )

I don’t feel alive without it.

Absolutely.

I was hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail with a very dear friend of mine, and we stumbled upon a doe. We froze in place and just watched her lick her nose and graze. Then she started walking towards us. She came within 4 or 5 feet of us and then sauntered off the trail and down into the woods without a peep. It was awesome.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard After reading your post, can’t help but to imagine that doe typing in a keyboard, posting in the internet about that day when she saw two humans along the Appalachian trail and she sauntered and sniffed and then went on her merry way, thankful you did not have guns or bows like the others. Lol.

@mazingerz88 I’m pretty sure that doe I saw is among the luckiest of deer. I’m almost positive that hunting isn’t allowed on the AT.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Good. It’s been a long time dream for me to walk the whole trail. Hopefully someday soon.

This morning (while watering indoor plants) I watched a doe walk just about 8 feet from me in the back yard. Ho hum another deer in the back yard I thought. Suddenly she stopped and looked behind her and two small fauns with white spots pranced up to her. What a beautiful sight! I felt up lifted as if all was well in the world.

A little of both. I hate when I step in nature’s little gift that my dog leaves behind.

@gondwanalon

Awww…any day now the fawns will start showing up over here too! :-D

That’s one of the main reasons I love photography. When I’m out on a photo safari, I just seem to pay so much more attention to everything around me.

It’s easier to see beauty when you’re actually looking for it. Funny how it works. Here are some examples of what I’ve seen while out and about. I really love nature photos the best!

www.flickr.com/photos/schroedes13/

Yes, all the time. Nature is my element.

Big fat bummer, just came in from a run to my little market and someone hit a tiny little newborn fawn and just left it smack in the middle of the road. I drug it’s poor little body to the side, this really pisses me off. If you run over something have the decency to pull it out of the road. Grrr! I hope it had a twin and that mama is not left childless.

Oh no. Last year there was a fawn hit near our house. I think they usually have singletons. :(. Poor mama.

@JLeslie

Actually it is not uncommon for older does to have twins. I have a mama deer that has had twins 3 years in a row! I should be seeing her and her fawn (s) any day now.
They are just starting to bring the babies out of hiding.
These are Black Tailed deer, I think the east coast has white tailed. ‘My’ doe begs for bread off my deck and will take it out of your hands. She has also gone in my garage and pawed the lids of the goose corn to help herself. Some bold deer over here. :-)

Here, in the east, I see does with twins all the time. They are the white-tailed and also becoming more and more brazen. The mother will often race across the road in front of a moving car in order to lure the car and driver away from the fawns, who wait, crouched, in the brush.

Sometimes, at dawn, I will see them grazing really close to the house, perhaps 20 feet away.

We’e spotted the babies this year as early as June 10th, when they feel safe in some of the larger old fields with woodland edges.

The fawns are, unquestionably, adorable enough so that one forgets the mischief and predation and Lyme disease waiting, just several months away.

@Coloma Oh, I wasn’t aware of that. One year we thought a doe had twins, but we were not sure. Sometimes we see 2 or 3 fawns together, but they many times look different ages, so cute. So we thought most of the time they are probably just playing together. There are usually a doe or two around minding them when they are very young.

@Coloma Maybe not the right time to mention, but the fawns taste the best and they’re easier to clean. Less smelly. Might as well make the death serve a purpose.

Older does will often give birth to two fawns at a time.

@incendiary_dan

Aaaagh! Veal fawns…I can’t go there, at all, unless I was starving. :-(

When I walk through the forest (or any other part of nature), I feel like I’m taking a stroll through my mind.