Taste Nature

Look at this beautiful quote my daughter found and then created for her kitchen wall.

When a person first looks at this hanging on the wall, aside from the beautiful green color, they initially read  “Taste Nature.” The they step in closer and read the entire thing.

“Given a taste for nature early in life.” What is that?

Is that a big red bowl full of a variety fresh fruit on the table all the time? The rich colors and textures of apples, pineapple, bananas, pears, and oranges inviting exploration and delighting the eye. Or is it snacks that consist of a bowl of fresh blueberries or grapes or apples? Perhaps it means meals made from scratch, or mostly scratch, fresh-baked bread or muffins, cooking done at home. Maybe it means trying new stuff at a young age because Mom or Dad seem to like it, stuff such as artichokes, asparagus, beets, frozen bananas, yams, squash or cherry tomato.

Fruit Basket (Photo credit: frankdasilva)

Or maybe a taste for nature early in life is spending time outside, bare feet in the grass, toes wriggling through sand, running through a sprinkler, throwing rocks in a pond, camping while still in diapers, helping plant and grow a backyard garden, or as simple as a regular walk outside?

Acquiring a taste for nature could also involve opening the windows to let the outdoors inside. Birds chirping, a breeze playing among the leaves, the plink and plunk of rain falling, a dog in the distance, perhaps a rooster crowing. Or you might open the car windows and let the scents of the places you pass make a child wonder at the smell of a distant grass fire,  fresh mown lawn or the dense rich aroma of mouldering leaves.

Or inviting a taste of nature may include a vase of flowers, a houseplant or two, a landscape painting hung nearby, or noticing and watching the sunset through a window.

I imagine every minuscule contact with nature a child experiences brings a richness into their lives that will serve them in countless ways in their future. The more interactive the better.

My only research on this topic involves seeing how my own children, and others as well, have enjoyed the outdoors, how they’ve reveled in the variety of flavors and colors nature provides. I’ve seen my life abundantly served and richly blessed by nature’s bounty.

With a taste for nature coursing through my veins I’ve found in life a cornucopia of wonder and beauty and joy.