Wylder Earth

Probably, like you, I spend far too much time looking at a screen, so I wanted to create these little ‘wylder moments’ where we can pause, reset and reconnect with nature. I challenge you to listen to the end of this audio clip – it’s only three minutes! Can you make space for yourself and for the natural world in your busy life?

It’s the sound of a little family of house sparrows who are nesting in the eaves of the house next door – a very typical English garden soundtrack to spring. Over the last few weeks, I’ve observed this little family’s life unfold – the parents flying back and forth to the nest, waiting on the telephone wire and singing noisily to their partner, surviving a raid by a starling a couple of weeks back and now the sound of the little chicks inside the nest becoming more and more audible each day.

I love this spectrogram of the birdsong – a visual representation of what we can hear. Isn’t it beautiful?

Over the top, I’ve layered a view through the leaves of a magnolia tree, another very typical signifier of spring in an English garden. Isn’t it incredible – that complexity of life in a single leaf? It’s a lens to view an entire system – the complex web of life of which we are all a part.

Don’t laugh – but as soon as the temperature gets above 20° (yes, 20° Celsius) – I need to retreat into the shade!

Whether you’re in the sun or shade, I hope you find time to connect with nature this week. If you do, I’d love to hear your story. What did you? What could your hear? What did you feel?