[11] Today’s prompt is Critters
Draw a tree and note all the interactions with birds, insects, animals, and humans.

Back to the Eastree today for a short-and-a-little-late-but-oh-well journal entry. It’s squirrel season in the neighborhood, and the critters are hitting the maples hard. Apparently they like the mouthfeel of the new branches, so seeing the gnawed small growths lying on the ground is common. Not good for the trees. Rather than delve into all the beautiful interactions that many beings have with this tree, I focused on the squirrels because they are very active. They are also very fun to watch, the little rascals. (Today I played with spattering and splooging! It’s gonna take some practice, but I think it adds so much energy. Since Cathy does this a lot, I think of the spatters as CathySparkles.)

• Learn more about this amazing tree: Japanese Maple ~ Acer palmatum

Inspiration: Life, landscape, linkages: A simple framework for nature journaling by Journaling with Nature

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About the #ArborApril challenge

Join the month of drawing and journaling trees!

#ArborApril2025 is a combo challenge with #NatureJournalingApril, a month-long sketching & journaling challenge hosted by Cathy Raingarden, Kate Rutter, and the Wild Wonder Foundation. Each day in April, create a page in your sketchbook or nature journal based on the daily prompt from the prompt list. If you post on social media, use hashtags #ArborApril2025 and #NatureJournalingApril.

Posts & prompts will be on online at Instagram, Wonderland, Substack & Bluesky.