The Delight of Rain & Sun, Seeing Nature Unfold - and Calming Down
Nature Diary | May 2025
I’m on a quest for a life closer to nature by taking walks, gardening (and rewilding our garden), paying attention to the seasons and all kinds of weather more, enjoying different landscapes, watching animals, noticing small and delightful details, reading all kinds of books about nature. I enjoy it so much!
This is what happened in May.
A walk in the forest
4th May
It was looking very much like it was going to rain soon. It was cold and windy, and I longed to be outside.
My husband and I went for a walk in a forest nearby for the first time. It’s quite popular with the locals, but we haven’t been there before, usually opting for our favourite one on the other side of town.
The light green beech leaves were beautiful, the creaking of the trees in the wind, the rustling in the conifers, the birds singing - and then the scent you only smell in the forest! It was just marvellous and so very peaceful!
I saw my first cockchafer of the year in the forest (and saved it from being run over by a car! Not sure what that vehicle was doing there anyway.).
Walking was nice, but neither of us were thrilled with the dead straight granite paths that went on forever without any possibility of turning off onto natural forest paths. It didn’t feel right, however this is something I encounter very often: A nature that feels too civilised for my taste, man-made, so obvious in the way people exploit nature and what it has to offer and shape everything according to their wishes.
The delight of rain and sun
The last 150 metres when then rain got us at last, pattering on the hoods, were the single-most beautiful experience of the entire walk.
I stood in front of our house for many more minutes, enjoying the rain on my head and shoulders, feeling so very much alive. It made up for the mixed forest experience, to be honest.
Later that day, after it had rained for hours, I stood by the open window and enjoyed the fresh, flavoursome air. All the dust of the many days without a trace of water was washed away, our garden smelled like a forest. There’s no better scent!
5th May
The Ice Saints have come early this year. In parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the period from May 12 to May 15 is often believed to bring a brief spell of colder weather in many years, including the last nightly frosts of the spring.
We had only 3 degrees overnight. Shortly before half past six, the air is cold, but the sun is shining. It even sends a narrow strip of sunlight into our north-facing kitchen. The advantage of summer getting closer. That's the only time of the year the sun makes it and lights up our kitchen. I enjoy these weeks!
In the garden
So much is happening in nature now, also in our garden. I can’t take my eyes off it!
White lilacs are flowering, white and pink rhododendrons are also starting or are already in full bloom. I enjoy taking a look or two every day at my alliums to see them very slowly unfold. It’s so beautiful to watch!
In the meantime, the Welsh poppies on the north side of the house have flourished in abundance. They self-seeded, I never intended them to be there, but I really like them now - and they seem to like it there too, there are more and more poppies every year. I think, they look lovely against the yellow house front - especially in the early morning sun shining along the path in front of our house.
I’ve noticed that I can’t read outside any more. For decades, nothing has ever been able to distract me from a good book. Well, it turns out there is something that can. Nature captures my attention. It’s much more exciting to be present, to watch, to listen, to observe, to feel what’s going on around me, even when just sitting on the patio. I feel it would be a waste of time not to notice what’s around me.
It’s not only common gulls who have brought a feeling of a seaside resort to our town lately, I’ve also heard oystercatchers a few days ago and saw cranes flying over our garden. They make such a characteristic trumping sound.
Fascinating insects
I very much enjoy watching insects. If I had to name favourites, they would be bumblebees (so cute and a joy to watch), dragonflies and damselflies (looking forward to their appearance in my garden this year, always an event), and firebugs (for their stunning colouring, the interesting pattern and their unusual shape).
But I’m also fascinated by others that cross my path. Sometimes quite literally, like the cockchafer in the forest. Look at these cool antennaes!
Two days ago, I found a species on our kitchen window frame I’ve never seen before. It turned out to be a ribbed pine borer! Luckily our kitchen window frame is not made from wood, it’s plastic, so no danger … ;-)
I never get tired watching the buzz of activity around our new bee hotel. Although it is now fully booked.
At my parents’, the old, suspended bee hotel is more loved than the brand new one. It is populated by black bees that I have not yet been able to identify. Shiny, iridescent, more like oversized ants with wings and waists. They seem to find dead wood interesting. Maybe they are some kind of chelostoma?
Hannah’s May theme over at A Year of Nature is insects and I’m very much looking forward to learning more about them.
Speaking of insects, years ago, I read a very cool children’s book by Paul Shipton called Bug Muldoon: The Garden of Fear. Bug Maldoon is a bug - and a private detective by profession. The best and cheapest snoop in the whole garden (and also the only one). Why do you need a detective in the garden? Because the large meadow between the daisies and dandelions is home not only to peaceful creepy-crawlies, but also to tough-as-nails villains. When earwig Eddie disappears, the bug quickly realises that this is more than just a routine case. The ants and the wasps are involved, and the entire garden is in grave danger! A gripping investigation into the insect world - exciting and funny, a child-friendly, hardboiled thriller that adults also enjoy reading (maybe even more).
Calming down
6th May
Sitting on the bench on the patio, my favourite mug with hot fennel tea in my hands, a fleece blanket wrapped around me, only 13 degrees, windy, cloudy. And yet this weather is doing me good.
I just need this to calm down.
There is a bit much going on at the moment - in my mind, in life and with too many projects in various states of completion. I love my work, I enjoy the perpetual creativity, new ideas, new topics, going deeper, finding out what really matters to me. But if gets too much, it makes my head swim and I’m spreading myself thin over it. Sometimes it’s like scrolling the internet. Just snippets. I switch quickly from one thing to another, my brain is constantly coming up with new ideas, expanding topics and projects, and I can hardly keep up with writing. As much as I enjoy it (and I do!), there are days when it's exhausting. I write on various texts, try to transfer all the ideas, process them so that nothing gets lost, and don't get anything done.
Then there is life and mental health - both can be quite a piece of work some days. So sitting on a bench looking out over all the green of our garden, watching the clouds pass by, listening to the wind in the leaves of our maple tree and the birds can be just what I need, so soothing.
Although I do my best to live a slow, simple and quiet life, sometimes it still gets me, and I have to remind myself to slow down, to listen to what I really need at that moment and just be present. It worked that day - at least for a while. I might need some more sittings on that bench …
Thank you so much for being here and following my journey!
What have you enjoyed this month in nature so far? I’d love to hear about it!
Curious about more nature posts? Read on …
As I’m working on reducing the pressure I put on myself (just like you, I think! :)), I’ve fallen a bit behind on reading some Substack posts on my list… but I do catch up eventually! And I noticed there was even a shout-out to my post - thank you!!
I can really relate to your feelings about rain. There’s something about it that makes us feel more alive, and I also love the smell after rain, especially in spring and summer. It’s like we can instinctively feel that it nourishes the earth.
It’s so cool that you have oystercatchers where you are - they’re such charismatic birds!
I totally get the feeling of “just snippets” as well. When I think about everything I do in my life, a lot of it is exactly what I want. But it can still feel overwhelming, or like it’s too much, because my attention is pulled in so many directions. At the same time, I don’t want to focus on just one single thing either! Finding that balance feels so crucial to happiness - and I think it looks different for everyone.
I hope you get to spend lots of time on your bench in the coming weeks :) I really enjoyed this mix of personal reflection and nature observation.
Claudia, that moment on the patio, blanket wrapped around you, tea in hand, just listening to the wind and the birds, is the kind of pause so many of us forget to take but deeply need. And your bee hotel being fully booked? I absolutely loved that 🐝☀️🌿