I’m a caring woman. I am proud of that. Even though it can hurt. Nature heals, if you’ll let her. That’s where I go to heal.

My blog post comes on International Women’s Day (8 March). I had been aiming for World Wildlife Day last Friday (3 March). That’s life. Today, I can celebrate being a woman that loves nature and animals.

Interview with Eleanor Smith for the #NatureForAll Love Fest festival in 2023

My nature love story

I was recently interviewed for the #NatureForAll Love Fest festival. If you tune in, you’ll find out how I fell in love with nature (yes it started with animals) and how I get inspired to write.

Discover #MyNatureLoveStory on YouTube (10min). How do you connect with nature?

But back to today. I took my cat Bagheera to the vet this morning for the first time since we got him. I had a hard time going to sleep last night I was so anxious about it. Something about myself to know and to accept: I love deeply and I worry. That’s the downside of caring that much. And when things are tough, where do I go? What do I do? Have you guessed yet?

Yes, I go out and spend time in nature or with animals. I go exploring with my camera and later on at home, I edit pictures and I write.

Connect with nature without going anywhere

If you’re not able to spend time in nature, why not feel her presence in a book?

The Eye of the Woods, a photographic journey by Eleanor Smith, is a nature photography and poetry book. I self-published the book at the beginning of the year. It was a project I had been quietly working on for months.

The Eye of the Woods, 2023

The pandemic changed for two years how we lived our lives. Like many others, I felt a need to escape the depressive headlines and the stifling time spent working from home. Nature played a therapeutic role in my life; it offered me a sense of freedom in nature.

The pandemic gave me the opportunity to be even more out in nature. I needed it. I found peace and time to think and to feel. This pocketbook is intended as an expression of that. I combine photography and writing with the goal of showing nature from her therapeutic side. I want to inspire others to stop, breathe, look around, and find peace.

I’ll be participating in this years’ issue of the Bergen Art Book Fair from 14 to 16 April in Bergen. If you’re in Bergen, come by and take a look at this year’s entries! Share with me your thoughts about nature.

Extract #1: Dark roots entwined

Dark roots entwined

From a certain angle

Are roots

Dead

Whereas from others

Are they alive

 

The dregs of life

Or the beginnings of life

 

Their free expression

Is undeniable

They reach out

Entwine

 

Protect

Or hold tight

Faces that appear

In the contrast

Of light and dark

 

What you see

Is up to you

 

An innocent face

Or a contorted

One

 

You choose

Extract #2: Stillness

Stillness

By all means go for a walk

It’s a great way to stay healthy

Get some fresh air

Gain some perspective

But when your brain is churning

You don’t notice what is around you

On the outside

You are not in your body

So much as in your mind (…)

So what’s in the book?

Table of contents, The Eye of the Woods

Intrigued? Why not order the book? It costs NOK 150 plus shipping costs.

When did you fall in love with nature? How have you been connecting with nature recently? How has nature had a healing effect in your life?