One of the most rewarding nature activities I have done, and do regularly, is calling owls. I would not recommend this to just anyone. You really need to have some experience with owls, birds of prey and wildlife before attempting this.
I use to go to work for the Forest Service and was an Interpretive Specialist and Environmental Education Instructor. I wrote and delivered various programs for individuals ages 3 to 103. One program I did often was Nature at Night and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.
On part of the program was hiking 5 miles on a trail at 10pm. The end of the trail was in a very secluded area near a wilderness area. I would have everyone stand back away from the area I was in and I would call owls. I had great success with Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls. After just a few calls, one would answer in a distance. Another call would prove it to be closer. Several times I have actually had the owl swoop down from the night sky right between me and the individuals on the hike. It was an amazing experience HOWEVER….
If you do try this activity, study the owl you plan to call, listen to recordings of its call and copy that over and over until you get as close to the call as possible. When beginning this, only call the owl until it answers once or twice, then leave the area. It is not advised, without experience, to call the owl to where you are standing. I know of an Interpretive Specialist in North Carolina that got a nice gash in his head from calling the owl to him without protection on his head. I always wore a hard hat when calling the owls, and even then had them hit the hat on two occasions. Never make other animal sounds when doing this. Often when we try to mock other animals, our sounds end up coming out like a very injured animal. This will draw attention from those who prey on such animals and you can find yourself being attacked like and “injured rabbit”.
Without much experience in this field, I would suggest doing this activity with a professional OR merely calling the owl once or twice to get the pleasure of hearing a return call. At this point, do not take the encounter further. There will be plenty of pleasure in your heart by simply getting that one response call, a verbal connection, from these beautiful birds.
*in addition, NEVER provide food for wild animals, no matter how tempting it may be. What you will be doing is killing that animal. Leaving food for animals in the wild is no different than slicing their throats with your bare hands. They come to rely on this food and will expect all humans to provide it, eventually attacking humans for food because they will associate humans with food. When this occurs, they are often killed…..due to our human stupidity.
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Take a walk near a stream. As you walk slowly, listening to the water sings its endless song, the birds telling each other of your presence, a squirrel warning you not to get too close, the sound of your feet caressing the Earth, pick up a small stone every once in awhile and place it in your pocket. After collecting 10-15 stones, find a secluded, quiet place to sit. Lay all of the stones in front of you on the ground and choose one stone to become your friend. Spend 15 minutes at least with this stone in your hand, touch every part of the stone, caress it, roll it in your hand, trace all edges with your fingertips, learn everything the stone has to teach you. After doing this, make a small mark on the stone. You can either do this with a pencil, scrape it with another stone to leave a small identifiable mark, etc. Then place the stone back into the pile and mix them up well. At this time, close your eyes and mix the pile of stones up together. Keeping your eyes closed, begin picking up the stones one at a time. Feel them, talk to them, know them! ..and do this with each stone until you are able to find YOUR stone that you just spent 15 minutes with. The trick is keeping your eyes closed and not peeking with the idea that you will know this stone by touch, not by sight. When you think you have found your stone, open your eyes and look for the mark. Do not be discouraged if you do not find your stone in the beginning. This is an activity you can do often and with experience and developing a special connection to our Stone People, you will improve. This is a great activity for partners and also to do with children.
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The wild ‘Touch Me Not’ or Impatiens capensis. This plant is amazing as a natural poison ivy treatment. Take the stems of the plants and crush them open with your hands to release the juice from the stems. Rub this liquid on poison ivy for relief of itching, removal of oil and healing. I have harvested this plant and extracted this juice from the stems. I place it in small ice trays and freeze it. You can take one piece out and the juice, along with the cold temperature of being frozen, is a welcome relief to the irritations of poison ivy. Something else this plant is useful for: take a few leaves and chew them for awhile. This is a very good remedy for constipation.
The juice from the stems in this plant have been used to relieve the itch of athlete’s foot as well. This plant can grow 2-5 feet tall and often grows along streams. The flowers are most often orange (as seen below in the picture I took) or sometimes yellow. Flowers are about 1′ long. It blooms from mid-Summer to early Fall. It will grow in light shade to partial sun, in moist areas.
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Nature Awareness is very important to the life of a Druid. On cannot hold reverence to the Earth Mother and The Shining Ones, without holding Nature dear to their soul. For those who are fortunate enough to live in an area where ‘Nature’ is abundant can become one with it by simply walking outside their door to stand in awe of its breathtaking beauty. However, in these trying days, it is difficult for others to make this private connection with Nature in the world of concrete and steel. One thing that can be done if you find yourself in this situation, is to go to a local Park or an area where you might encounter a few trees, a stream, fountain or grassy area. It is imperative, and difficult for some, to practice your meditation exercises in order to block out man made noises and structures, focusing only on those things of Nature that the Great Earth Mother has provided for our pleasure and sanity. Choose a place and frequent it often. Sit quietly and ease your mind into a peaceful, calm state. If unnatural structures or noises interfere with your ability to connect with the natural world, visualize a large eraser and in your mind take that eraser to make these outer influences slowly disappear. Focus strongly on the sounds of birds, water, insects, wildlife, the wind, rain, etc. Your focus can be on something as simple as an ant or as vast as a wildlife habitat in the wilderness. Increase the amount of time you spend each week in this area. Declare it your own private nature sanctuary. Look for things that make it ‘natural’ and learn about those things. Identify plants, trees, birds, insects, etc. in the area. Study about those things in your private time at home or at the library. Give names to the things you are gaining a connection with. Continue to increase in this knowledge and the connection will grow as well. Eventually, you may be able to plan short day trips, weekend trips, vacations in to nature oriented areas, wilderness areas and forests.
First and foremost! Enjoy! The experience of entering Nature should always be a pleasurable one. Find that pleasure and you will grow spiritually.
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