April Showers. May Flowers. Or Whatever They Say.
Monthly reflective love letters #2: April 2024
April brought nostalgia and newness. I’ve purchased new t-shirts that will one day be worn to perfection. Clothes that will one day be attached to so many memories. And I also let go of clothing that was too small.
The rain has been coming in hurricane-like pour downs which cools the air for days. My connection to Earth has grown deeper and more loving. She has been sending me signs of love and affection: wild bellflowers, multiple feline visits, rabbits popping out of bushes. Earth has been enticing me to try new things and return to curiosity. Last month, I saw the stars.
April consisted of new habits. Long, gentle days; short, soft nights. April reinforced confidence and strong-armed me into uncomfortable explorations. I did my first few hikes of the year this month, explored and studied new creatures, and wrote many mundane journal entries in my journal. I spent a shocking amount of the month walking around parks and through trails teary-eyed from my awe of nature.
Favorites of the month consisted of: owls, wildlife-centered nonfiction books, road trips, fresh salads, ripe strawberries, forest bathing, chocolate chip pancakes, putting my locs into a bun, watching the newly birthed ducklings swim in the lake, and daily treks.
READING //
This month’s reading was incredibly whimsical. I read whatever my heart desired, as I always do, so my taste this month was all over the place.
(Long Form)
Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery. This was a book that I talked about in last month’s letter. I spent the first day of April finishing the last few pages of this amazing book.
Happy Place by Emily Henry. I listened to this novel while roadtripping around Northern Louisiana. The wind blowing in my face, my hair spinning around in the air, and this audiobook streaming into my ears. Days later, I reread the physical copy.
The novel is taking place in a cottage on the coast of Maine. Every year, for the past decade, a friend group of six (containing Wyn and Harriet) gather at the cottage for a week of bliss. This year will be there last year ever staying at the cottage because it’s being sold. The only thing is: everyone has grown up and now have their own issues, Harriet and Wyn have broken up (things are worse for them because they never told their friends), and this will be a chapter closed. The end of an era. For those reason, Harriet and Wyn decide to pretend for the week.
I was fully expecting to think this book was just mediocre. It was not. It was, honestly, fantastic. Emily Henry writes the most realistic characters. All of the friendships, the romantic relationships, the miscommunications, and the secrets were all so understandable and realistic. I understood all of the characters and their flaws. Absolutely no complaints from me.
A Soul of An Octopus by Sy Montgomery. I am slowly but surely making my way through this one.
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. What an enchanting, enthralling novel. This novel is a melting pot of many genres: magical realism, historical romance, and mystery. Veronica, our main character, is a traveling scientist and researcher that has been gallivanting around the world collecting and researching butterflies. Her expeditions get quickly interrupted when her aunt dies and she is quickly thrown into the face of danger. All of the signs are showing that someone is trying to murder her. Enters the Baron. The Baron finds Veronica and brings her to London to the one man he knows will keep her safe: Stoker. As you can imagine, he is the love interest.
This book was so surprising! The second I started it, I was absolutely pervaded and deeply invested in the story.
(Short Form)
“In Spite of All the Damage” by
. Dronme has lines within her essays that are so whipsmart and sharp that you're taken aback as you read. This post was no different. Humor is woven beautifully into prose about travel, notes on social media, and musings on chronic illnesses. It is sad, soft, and serious. I genuinely gobble up every word that she writes. She is such an amazing writer.“I think it’s fair to say that one of the most universal fears is being misunderstood. Having your words or your actions be swallowed in a way you didn’t expect, be grabbed from your well-intending hands and warped into something that was not what you meant.” - Dronme
How to Think Like a Forest. Part book reflection, part musings on trees and the power of forests. Essays like this are so important when it comes to attempting to reconnect to the forest, to the Earth. Such a gorgeous essays.
“Suddenly the forest was a different place, more mysterious, in league with the heavens but open with its secrets, if only we care to look.” -
The Eclipse Within Our Grasp. A beautiful essay and observations on the animals within the Earth that have eclipses in their eyes, feathers, etc.
has such a beautiful eye for writing, specifically about nature.'It all serves to remind us that we need not look solely to the heavens for moments of transcendence. The music of the spheres, a harmonic convergence, a total solar eclipse — they are here as well within our grasp.” -Bryan Pfeiffer
Within For Lovers of Tea,
communicates the words I wish I could say. Feelings for herbs, vegetation, and life I harbor. The love that is felt on a daily basis.“Never have I felt more connected to the earth and God until I discovered that almost every ailment can be healed by the herbs that the earth has provided. This is without question evidence of the divine’s undeniable love for us.” -Jourdana Elizabeth
PHOTO ALBUM
Happy adventuring,
Yulani S.
Just curious... what does forest bathing entail?
Thank you for the mention and kind words.