Cara/Andrea here, It’s been a gorgeous summer here in the New England (yes, a few hot, muggy days, but on the whole, it’s been the sort of weather that beckons us to put aside all the mundane things that keep us at our desks and take a break to enjoy the pleasures of Nature.)
My favorite time for a walk is early evening, and my favorite place is a nearby golf course that juts into Long Island Sound. The everchanging nuances of the sunlight on the water is lovely, 
and the subtle rhythms of the landscape—the breeze ruffling through the grasses, the play of wildlife, the flight of the birds—reminds me of how important it is to take the time to appreciate the small moments of beauty that are easy to miss in the rush-rush pace of modern life.
I really love the animals and birds I see on my walk. This summer, a family of foxes has taken up residence near the first hole—the four kits are adorable, and it’s delightful to watch them explore their world. As for birdlife, it’s amazingly rich and varied—egrets, great herons, loons, seagulls and all
sorts of smaller song and seabirds. And hawks. They soar overhead, so still and graceful riding the wind currents as they hunt. Recently I caught a huge one with my camera—what you can’t see is the muskrat clutched in his talons!
The Regency era, with its rising mood of Romanticism, also celebrated being in touch with Nature. Turner,
Bonington, Constable—the list of artists who sought to capture the beauty of the world around them is amazing. But one of the artists I think about a lot on my walks is John James Audubon, and his passion for depicting the birds and wildlife he saw in America.
I find his art exquisite. But one of the other reasons I feel a camaraderie with him is that in many ways, he’s very much like us modern day authors. In addition to creating his marvelous art, he had to become a savvy self-promoter in order to publish and sell his work. Like us, he had to be imaginative in marketing—so in many ways he's one of the original "indie" authors!
It’s a great story, so I’m going to do something a little different today, and rather than retelling his story, I’m going to send you off to read a really fascinating article about the man and his art. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! (And for those of you in the UK, the Victoria Gallery in Liverpool, England has the largest collection of Audubon's work outside the Unites States.)
What about you—do you find it relaxing to walk outdoors and watch the birds and animals around you? Any particular favorites? Or funny stories? Please share!
