Velvet Barnacle - Nature Connection with Catherine Mason

23/09/2023

Happy autumn equinox! I pulled a card from my deck yesterday, this beautiful Abundance card sums up this time of year for me and couldn't have been more perfect, so it's been sitting by my bed for a couple of days as a reminder to be grateful for all the blessings of the season. This is the time of the fruit harvest, the festival of Mabon, and a time of balance between darkness and light where we can pause before heading into the half of the year where the hours of darkness outnumber those of daylight.

Do you celebrate these seasonal markers? How do you feel about the shorter days coming?

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Image description: a collection of seasonal objects arranged on a piece of weathered wood in dappled sunlight. There's a handmade Goddess figurine, a candle on a crescent moon stand, an apple, a string of rowan beads, a golden healer crystal and several bunches of hedgerow berries. In the centre is the card Abundance from Lucy Tipper's deck.

20/09/2023

The weather was absolutely dismal today, gale force winds and lashing rain. So for I'm remembering this walk last week when the sun picked out every berry along the hedgerows. The hawthorn is particularly abundant this year, its blood-red haws a perfect antidote to the grey skies.

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Image description: a windswept hawthorn tree with hardly any leaves left but covered in bright red berries in front of a landscape of green fields and hedgerows.

22/03/2023

It finally feels like we're tentatively creeping into spring over the last week. We've passed the equinox and the blackthorns along the hedgerows have burst into frothy white.

There are lots of changes on the horizon and I'm hoping for the pause and balance found at this seasonal threshold to bring me some calm and grounding to navigate them.

It's and it's mostly the signs of spring that I've been appreciating. Skylarks singing in the fields, robins building a nest in our garden, tiny bobbing snakes-head fritillaries popping up in the lawn, being warm enough to take my coat off outside occasionally 😂 Tea in the garden. Primroses!

Let me know if spring has reached you, or what other little moments you're grateful for this week.

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Image description: a close up of some blackthorn blossom, surrounded by the tight white buds that have not yet opened.

30/11/2022

I've always loved London Plane trees. As a child it was a treat to go to London to visit family, the huge buildings and streets big enough to have fully grown trees lining them were a world away from rural Dorset! Some of my strongest memories of London as a young child are of kicking through the mountains of plane leaves in the parks in the autumn. The ridiculous-looking, fuzzy, bobbly seed balls hanging from the branches in the winter are the icing on the cake of these wonderful trees.

Other little bits of wonderful-ness I've been appreciating this week for ...

Hearing tawny owls outside the house in the evenings, I find it such a cosy, comforting sound.

Lebkuchen. One of the best things about November/December. Fact.

Handmade lemon sugar scrub. It's been working magic on my winter-dry hands.

What has been bringing you joy this week?

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Image description: sunlight shining through the yellow leaves of a row of London planes on the edge of the river Thames. Their trunks are silhouetted black against the light and the sky is blue behind them.

29/10/2022

Popping my face here as a quick reminder of the absolute joy that can be found in a close up experience with the natural world. With my skirt hoicked up, bare feet in the cool water, and spray from this magical waterfall in my hair and eyelashes, I couldn't stop grinning and felt completely at peace with the world.

It's a pretty rare feeling these days! And I realise I'm incredibly lucky to be able to visit somewhere like this at all. If you find it difficult to get as much nature time as you would like, check out my course Noticing November for lots of prompts and inspiration to help you connect with nature as we head towards winter. (more info here; https://subscribepage.com/noticingnovember)

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Image description: first pic is a close up of my face in front of the waterfall at St Nectan's Glen in Cornwall. My long brown hair is covered with drops of water and I'm smiling at the camera. Second pic is a full length shot of me in front of the waterfall, holding my long green dress out of the water and still grinning. It's off-centre because my wonderful husband was trying to fulfil my insta-photography requirements at the same time as herding the paddling children.

12/10/2022

Aspen leaves in autumn might be my favourite 🧡



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Image description: a bright red and yellow aspen leaf held up between my finger and thumb in a field with trees behind. The sun is shining behind it, making the colours glow.

19/06/2022

We are approaching the longest day here in the northern hemisphere. This solstice marks the height of the sun's energy, bringing the summer and a season of abundance, and has long been celebrated because of this.

There are many ways you can celebrate if you choose to mark the solstice, and Instagram is awash with beautiful ritual ideas if you need some inspiration. But this year I know that my energy is not a match for the energy of the sun. I would love to get up early and watch the sunrise, make a flower crown and a fancy feast, and sit up around a fire until late in the evening, but the thought of actually doing it all feels completely overwhelming. After the initial guilt that this brought up, it got me thinking that I'm probably not the only one who feels this way. I actually think it's a natural response when our minds and bodies have been dealing with an extended crisis over the last few years, and the physiological fight or flight response that comes with it.

I'll be talking about this more in my newsletter going out tomorrow, along with some simple ways you can mark the solstice without draining your energy and a printable altar card you can download. You can sign up at https://subscribepage.com/natureforwellbeing which will also give you my free ebook.

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Image description: a cascade of yellow roses with the sun shining through them from behind in a clear blue sky.

01/04/2022

I hope you have a lovely weekend, whatever you're doing 💫

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Image description: a blackthorn bush with a tall stem of blossom sticking up in front of the sea and cliffs at Worbarrow Bay just visible in the background. The sun is shining into the camera and illuminating the white petals from behind.

05/03/2022

I was planning to use the start of to reintroduce myself, but somehow we're already 5 days in! I don't do very well sticking to a daily post on a theme, so I'm going to dip in and out and post when I can.

I'm Catherine, I live on the coast in Dorset and my biggest love has always been nature. I truly believe that out growing disconnection from the natural world is the root of many of the problems we see across the world today. We are part of the Earth, but have forgotten that, and so have been treating her (and each other) in a terrible way over the last several hundred years.

I want to help you to rekindle that ancient connection to nature, and help you find ways that connection can positively impact your day to day life. The benefits to our physical and mental health of spending time in nature are huge, and the long-term effects of nature connectedness can be life changing. I believe that when more women are in touch with the natural world, in tune with her cycles and seasons, then the ripple effect of that connection will have the power to change the world.

I offer private mentoring, day retreats, and will be restarting some small group workshops this year. I use art and creativity in my practice, and love to use sustainably foraged plants to create natural dyes and ecoprints. If you are interested in finding out how we could work together you can always send me a message, or book a short chat through the link in my bio. Otherwise you can sign up to my newsletter for a free nature connection guide and to stay up to date with what I offer.

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Image description: me, a white woman with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a dark red woolly hat with a pom pom and a white fluffy coat. I'm standing on the rocks at Portland Bill, with the sea and grey stormy sky behind me.

02/02/2022

We made it through January! Just about. It's been a funny old start to the year hasn't it? I've seen a lot of people talking about "the longest January ever", although I think last year gave this one a run for its money.

For me it seems to have been both interminably long, and that the year is racing away from us again. Maybe because I feel like I haven't achieved very much, lots of the exciting ideas I've had for in-person events are still sitting in notebooks. I've only posted here twice all through January.

Imbolc, Lunar New Year, new moons, have all quietly chastised me for not being more visible, for missing a chance to post something, for missing my newsletter, for not having enough to 'show' for another month on this earth.

And yet. I have rested better this winter than I have in a long time. I have enjoyed pacing myself with nature and have watched the snowdrops emerging with curiosity rather than impatience for once. I know that there will be time for all the plans I have to come to fruition, there is no rush.

I talk a lot about how being connected to nature is good for you, but I'm not always great at making time to stop and notice it myself. I guess this is me walking my talk, even if it means things are a bit quieter in certain seasons...

Happy

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Image description: seven* swans a swimming, silhouetted in front of the sun which is shimmering on the Fleet lagoon. *actually there are eight, the song must have got it wrong.

16/12/2021

If you struggle to get your family motivated to come out for a walk with you once the weather turns cold and wet, try turning it into a game game of I-Spy with my free Winter Walks spotters' guide 👀

Download your free guide 10 things to look out for on a winter walk. Free printable checklist to take with you on winter family walks. Look out for different trees and birds, as well as tracks and signs of what animals have been around.

31/10/2021

Samhain blessings and happy Halloween! Are you celebrating today? We'll be having a quiet day after an exciting half term, seeing a few of my daughter's friends this afternoon, and lighting a fire tonight.

I'm creating a little altar with some seasonal nature finds, candles, and photographs of some of my ancestors. Samhain marks the witches new year, and is a time of gratitude for all that's come in the last year as well as looking ahead to what you want to call in for the months ahead.

I'm also preparing for Noticing November, which starts tomorrow. There is still time to join us; https://www.velvetbarnacle.com/noticing-november

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Image description: my upturned hands holding an antler from a young side deer, some alder cones and a magpie feather in front of my grey knitted jumper and an ecoprinted dress from Gumnut Magic 📷 by the very talented Meg Lovell