Raiin Monkey: Earth Day

Sunday, 22 April 2018

Another Earth Day, Another Photo Diary | Earth Day 2018

Hello guys! If you didn't know it already, today is Earth Day! It is international event held each year to remind people to take care of the world around them and to each do their little bit to protect nature. On Earth Day, organisations across the globe put on demonstrations, classes, talks, workshops, etc., to help educate people on the problems impacting the natural world, and how they can get involved in conservation. There are so many things that you can do such as donating money to charities and schemes, being more 'green' in your everyday lives which entails reducing the amount of plastics you are using or the amount of electricity you use, travelling via public transport or walking sometimes instead of always using your car, recycling and reusing things, buying from renewable sources or environmentally-friendly companies, litter picking, spreading the word about projects and/or signing petitions, or taking a more hands-on approach and getting involved in volunteering. There's seriously so much you can do! Even if you feel like it's a small, insignificant thing to for example use a reusable water bottle VS always buying water from the shop, believe me it's actually really helpful to the cause and is a very constructive thing to do to contribute to protecting and preserving the planet. Whatever you can do to help, please do it :) It's all a step in the right direction. Encourage others to do it too!

On April 22nd annually, people are encouraged to get outside and immerse themselves in nature. You could go to a park, a nature reserve, for a scroll down the street, a dog walk, or even just venture out into your garden. Go anywhere where you can be outdoors and get a close encounter with the natural world, where you can witness how beautiful it is! Appreciate it, and take note of how important it is to protect it, so that we can go on appreciating it for many years to come, so that future generations can enjoy it! It is now Spring Time and we are starting to see flowers blooming, trees are beginning to bud, all of the animals are getting active again and yesterday & today I spotted my first butterflies of the year! It's an exciting time, perfect for getting outside after a long and cold winter :)

Nature for many people, myself included, has a very therapeutic effect on their well-being and mental health. There is something so relaxing and tranquil about watching the tree branches sway in the wind, listening to birds tweeting, hearing the trickle of a stream flowing over rocks, being able to smell the earth all around you. I find surrounding myself with nature makes me feel free; I am so focused on all the sights and smells and sounds around me, that I barely have chance to dwell on my anxious thoughts or worries. Who else feels this way?

Today I was not having the best of days, my physical health conditions have flared up, which in turn made me feel crappy mentally, things happened throughout the day to make me feel worse and I was just so tired that I got pretty emotional. I decided that I was going to go out into the garden and attempt to calm myself. I had been outside for less than 10 minutes, listening to the garden birds and feeling the sun of my face, breathing in the scent of the air after it had been raining (which is one of my favourite smells ever!), and I already felt a little better. I was inspired as always to go and grab my camera then, to have a wander around exploring all the intricate details in my surroundings. Nature photography is one of my absolute favourite hobbies, if not my favourite! As soon as I began to focus my attention on the tiny green shoots popping out of the soil, the rain drops glistening in the sun, zooming in with my camera on the tiniest leaf to magnify all the veins and textures, I felt content and in my element as they say :) I am a bit of wild child when it comes to being outdoors, I like to walk around bare-footed, feeling the grass between my toes and in this case, the wet mud squelching under my feet, haha! I took quite a few photographs, and I thought you might like to see them so I will stop getting carried away with myself (I can literally talk about flora and fauna all day!) and show you. Enjoy!

Just looking back through all of the photographs I've taken today has made me feel so good :) How stunning are leaves and flowers though!? It is truly amazing how complex and detailed nature really is. All of those colours and shapes and textures! Aren't they just so much more gorgeous when they are covered in raindrops?? When the sun catches them and makes it look like they are coated in glitter. I mean just look at the photograph above, that raindrop looks like a jewel. They are the diamonds of the natural world! (not that actual diamonds aren't natural, but you know what I mean haha). I'm really proud of this photo actually, and that's another thing I enjoy so much about nature photography. I always feel so happy looking through the pictures afterwards, reliving the wonderful moments all over again :) Which is your favourite photograph and why? I'm really curious to know!

So that's my Earth Day post for this year! I almost didn't get it posted in time because I've been doing so many things this evening, after my family who were visiting & having Sunday roast dinner with us today had gone home. I'm really glad though that I made the decision to go outside when all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and binge watch documentaries. It really did make all of the difference; after spending time in nature, I felt pretty reinvigorated! I recommend that if you're feeling rubbish that you spend some time outdoors, even if it's just for ten minutes... just sit and take in everything around you, or close your eyes and just listen. I just want to end my post by saying let Earth Day be a reminder to you to get outside more and appreciate the wonders of nature, and to make changes in your life, no matter how small, like something as simple as using reusable shopping bags VS plastic carrier bags, because it is important to look after the earth that gives us so much :) I hope you enjoyed my post & photos, and I hope you've had a lovely day!

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Have you done anything to celebrate Earth Day today?

What was the last memorable natural thing you saw?

I'd love to hear all about it in the comments & why it was so memorable or special for you :)

For more nature related posts, check out these below:
| Spring Time In The Garden | Earth Day 2016 | Afternoon at Avenham Park |

Spring Time In The Garden | Earth Day 2017

Happy Earth Day Everyone! I hope that you've all managed to get outside today to appreciate the beautiful natural world around us, whether you went to your local park, sat outside in the garden or even just took a scroll to the shops and noticed the trees or plants growing on the street. Today is a day to celebrate nature, and to educate others on ways they can help nurture and protect the World's flora and fauna. Today marks the 45th Earth Day. Since 1970, organisations and charities across the globe have used this day to show people how they can be more environmentally friendly by making even the smallest changes to the way they live, spreading the message about the importance of campaigns like Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. You can find out more about Earth Day here :)

I always like to spend Earth Day surrounded by plants and trees and flowers, usually with my camera in hand as nature photography is a favourite hobby of me. Unfortunately I've not been feeling too well over the last few days so I couldn't go for a walk in the woods, but I decided instead to appreciate nature closer to home and spend an afternoon taking in the sights and smells of Spring Time whilst relaxing in my own garden. There is something really quite magical about nature and how it has an effect on our mental health. Feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and the grass in between my toes today, listening to the birds tweeting and watching insects hopping from flower to flower was so therapeutic. I decided to share some of the photographs I took with you all, like I did for Earth Day 2016. Enjoy!

I was so excited when I spotted my first butterflies of the year today! It was tough to photograph them, so I was over the moon when I finally managed to sneak up on a tiny Speckled Wood (Pararge aergeria) that looked like it hadn't long left it's pupa. It was so pretty! I'm really happy that our Apple Blossom tree has finally bloomed and is now covered in a mix of unopened blight pink buds and gorgeous white flowers. It's gorgeous and it's such a shame that the blossoms don't last very long. The little garden birds are enjoying the tree too, and I saw my first Blue Tit of the year too. I can't wait for all of other flowers in my garden to grow and bloom, and for more gloriously sunny days like today. Be prepared to get spammed with lots more flower photography this year, haha. What's everyone's favourite flower, plant or tree species? I personally adore bluebells (another flower I can't wait for the arrival of!), sweetpeas and ferns. As for trees, I love Japanese cherry blossoms, wisteria, oak and Japanese acer. I hope you all have a lovely Spring!

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Where was the last place you went to appreciate nature?

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An Afternoon in the Woods | Earth Day 2016

If you didn't know, today is Earth Day :) It's an annual occassion that was established in the 1970's as part of the environmental movement, to remind us all that we need to look after our beautiful Planet. We need to do our best to contribute to the current efforts that are being made to protect the natural world, even the smallest contribution can help make a difference! Every Earth Day, I try to make sure I go out and surround myself with nature, even if it's just sitting in the garden, listening to the birds sing and watching the leaves blow in the wind. I feel close to nature this way and it gives me the opportunity to truly immerse myself in it's beauty. I've always felt so relaxed and at peace when I'm surrounded by nature! This year I decieded to take a trip to the local woods with my mum and I spent a lovely few hours there this afternoon.

One of my passions is nature photography and after having a difficult last few months due to mental health, I didn't get out much and it made me really sad. I was so happy to explore the woods with my camera today! Woods and forests are my favourite places; there's just so much gorgeous fauna & flora to see there. I saw some lovely animals... squirrels, a big bird of prey, ducks and lots of adorable dogs. I got to hug the cutest black labrador puppy! However, the highlight of my day was seeing a Eurasian Jay for the first time! Being the animal nerd I am, I actually got a little teary-eyed, and got so overexcited that I managed to get a photo of this gorgeous bird. It was honestly so beautiful with it's colourful feathers. At the end of the journey, I stopped at the pretty little 'Olde England Kiosk' to treat myself to an ice-cream. I had a wonderful time, and I hope you enjoy my photographs!