Man made structures toys etc tend to promote one particular way of playing or using the space or toy etc. Natural environments are open ended allowing you to use your imagination and encourage problem solving skills social interaction.

Recently my son visited from the UK with his family. One of the nicest times was standing under a bridge in a shallow river watching my grandkids play in the water while I took photos. Some cousins floated down the river on boogie boards with lots of laughter. Other started picking up rocks to throw seeing who could make the biggest splash. A couple decided to build a dam which involved working hard to find ways to move the large heavy rocks into position. My son taught his nephew to skim rocks. The smile on the boys face when he succeeded was priceless.

To the kids they were just having fun but what I saw was kids working together and watching out for each other so everyone was safe but able to enjoy themselves. I enjoyed the feeling of the cool water on my legs surrounded by trees and scrub on the river banks.

I went for a walk the other day. I have been really struggling but forced myself to stop and try to notice as much details as I could. I felt different leaves noticed textures in the environment and tried to notice as many sounds as possible. It didn't fix my problems but gave a short needed break from stress and negative thoughts

Hello Dear Quirky, Elizabeth, sbella ,and all...🤗..
I hope I mentioned everyone..the page has turned over and I can’t see the other page..

Quirky...I went through some of my mums old photos and saw one of me...I look about 6 or 7...I am standing in our backyard and I’m holding 2 giant blue tongued lizards...my brothers had them as pets...The lizards are nearly as big as me 😂...I do remember that day a bit....hmm now if I see a blue tongue lizard, I turn around and run away from it..😂😂..

Elizabeth..Out My way (central nsw)..the schools all have community vegetable gardens, where the children grow them and take home the veggies when ripe...The school in my village has only 7 students attending from years kindergarten to year 6....I think they would be well supplied with what they grow...

I loved listening to sharing your days at the beach with your family, how very precious that would have been....I don’t walk much at all, but when I can sit outside in comfort I love watching and listening to the birds, late evening and early morning if I’m lucky I get to see some kangaroos and rabbits munching on the grass...

I think walking very mindfully in nature gives our soul a little refresh and boost...well done doing that even though you didn’t feel like it...You fought through those depressive/anxious thoughts and you won....Well done..

Tomorrow starts the most beautiful and colourful season....Autumn... I like the way the leaves on the trees turns so many beautiful shades...of reds, oranges, Browns, yellow...and many more shades..

My kindest thoughts with my care and hugs..🦋🌹🌾🤗

Grandy..🕊🌱🌈🍀🍁🍂..

Hello Everyone....🤗..

The colder months are here again...but that doesn’t mean that we cannot enjoy some of the beautiful things that the universe has for us.

Putting on warm clothes, gloves, scarves, beanies and jackets to go outside is something that I do a lot....no I don’t walk around the streets of my village because my anxiety takes control and tells me it’s not safe...What I do is sit on my veranda (Sometimes under a blanket) or walk around my yard...That’s all that’s needed to enjoy some of our winter awesomeness that our universe has on show...

I like the ice cold air on my face..it feels so fresh, like a cold water face wash does in the hot summer months...The birds are still flying around happily singing as the forage for food...they still use my bird bath which in the morning on somedays has a thin layer of ice on top...the kangaroos that come down from the hills are hard to see, through the thick heavy frost....and the cows, I can hear them...but barely see them munching on the frozen grass...

Have you ever woken up early enough to see the sunrise on a frosty morning...it is really beautiful, the frost distorts the suns rays and gives everything a golden glow...after the frosts lifts from the lower areas...I am lucky enough to see the frost lingering around the mountains...The frost sitting lower then the top of the mountains, reminds me of the photos I’ve seen of Mt Everest...

The winter sun, not being so strong is a comforting way to heal our cold bones...it seems to absorb into us in a more gentler way...sitting in a sunny spot, out of the wind or breeze looking around at the creatures and trees around us...reading a book, sewing, etc is something that I do like doing...

The stars seem closer or more brighter in winter then summer...I watch them at night snuggled up in my blanket while I’m sitting outside on my veranda...

I would love to hear about things you do outside in winter...and what you like about the winter months..

Warm hugs..

Grandy..

Ggrand,

I must say, I've never actually seen or been to the snow. Where I live, we don't really get snow ever, there's only really once specific place where it has snowed on very rare occasion. I would love to see the snow though, it sounds amazing.

My favourite thing to do in winter is to curl up by a fireplace and immerse myself in something like painting, writing, reading, or even drinking something warm. So relaxing.

SB

There is some gardens near us which are run by Parks Vic. I love to visit at different times of the year but haven't done much for ages. Combination of tiredness depression and too many things to deal with. I missed thembin lockdowns as they were outside our 5km limit. Reading your post Grandy reminded me to prioritise time to go there. I like to notice the different plants flowering or the different leaves. Even at home just noticing plants and flowers as they change. I love camelias which bloom in winter. I miss the snow. Cold now affects my hsb badly but I have a large photo in my bedroom of him walking up a mountain in the snow. I sometimes take time to stop and look at it remembering the beautiful day we had although a little scary at times because of the conditions. We half slid down the hill back to the village as it was impossible to avoid it with the soft snow giving way. Maybe the message is to take photos or display other reminders of fun things to help transport you back to good places as a break from negative times.