The Best Ideas Can Come From Nature: Blue Heron

Trees with spring green leaves next to a light blue lake. The reflection of a hill is in the water. The best ideas can come when surrounded by nature.

Field Trip #1

How exciting it is to start a blog! I had everything in order…I had thought of my niche, my specific style…my theme, my colors, and my overall message. But one of the most important parts was missing. Although I had a name for the blog, I wasn’t entirely sure of it. It was two weeks before I was launching the site, but I was having second thoughts. I had a name that I thought was unique, meaningful, and catchy….but was it the perfect name? I racked my brain to think of an alternative, but nothing came. For days I mulled it over… still nothing. It was a terrible conundrum. I was going to need special help. I believe that the best ideas can come from nature….so it was time to take a field trip.

A view looking through a bridge tunnel
at a lake surrounded by trees just starting to bud and a split rail fence.

Indeed the best idea best ideas can come from nature. So I decided to clear my head and take a little field trip… a nature walk around a local lake. Who doesn’t get excited about a field trip? I know I do! It’s really helpful if I am looking for fresh new ideas or clearing my head…or lifting my spirits….especially if the field trip is outdoors. A great way to start is to look online for parks in your area. It’s just what I needed. This particular day I was enjoying a Spring walk with my hubby and daughter. We were energized and raring to go…Spring can do that for you. Surrounded by all of the crisp air and sunshine, I felt like I couldn’t go wrong.

A white blooming spring tree next to a lake with green foliage in the distance and a park bench and a path. The best ideas can come when surrounded by nature.

Our favorite trail goes around a small lake and has some beautiful flowers and interesting wildlife. It can really brighten your mood….and load your senses with the colors, the sights, the songs, and the smells of nature. I was hoping by being surrounded by all of the magnificence, something would click in my search for the perfect blog name. I was hoping nature could influence my thought process and shed some sunshine on the problem.

The edge of a lake in springtime with blooming trees of warm white and pink.

Ideas From Nature: Flowers and Trees

Can enjoying flowers and trees in the great outdoors foster ideas? Of course!!! Whether I am painting a canvas, decorating a sunroom, or coming up with a blog name, these natural beauties can spark a seed of creativity and promote one to think. We saw so many different varieties of Spring flowers and took quick photos with my iPhone, including Wood Hyacinth, Lesser Celandine, and Lily of the Valley.

Spring flowers white blooms that look like small bells, Wood Hyacinths. The best ideas can come when surrounded by nature.

Yellow spring flowers with dark round leaves, Lesser Celandine.

Lily of the Valley Flowers and leaves. Tiny little white blooms that look like bells shooting out of long and rounded green leaves.

Close-up of a Lily of the Valley plant.
White tiny bell shaped blooms inside tall rounded green leaves..... the best ideas can come from nature

But did they help me this particular day to produce another blog name???…not quite. And so we soldiered on.

Ideas From Nature: Wildlife

We didn’t give up and we still had high hopes. We believed that by the end of this field trip, we would have some answers. Mallards were skimming the water, and there were oodles of turtles balancing on floating logs. We even saw a speedy little muskrat paddling to shore, which really got our attention. But none of those encounters created that magical moment for us. We were still hoping to spy a glimpse of our favorite of all favorites, so we kept our eyes peeled.

A baby turtle sunning himself on a floating log, a Red Eared Slider. When surrounded by nature, the best ideas can come to you.

Twenty turtles all in a line, enjoying the sun, clinging to a floating log.

A speedy little muskrat paddling in the lake close to shore.

My All-Time Favorite

We were keen to find the elusive Blue Heron…also known as the Great Blue Heron. We were finally going to put our feelings to the test. If we encountered him again would our feelings be ignited or merely fizzle out? Or perhaps would some other form of nature prove to be more engaging? The great outdoors can clear the cobwebs and refresh your thoughts. On this particular day, it did indeed! And then it finally happened!

A Blue Heron standing on a thick branch by the edge of the lake.

Right in front of us, by the edge of the lake so close you could almost touch him, stood all 4 feet of him…..the elusive Blue Heron. Surrounded by shrubs and new Spring leaves, he was amidst his habitat and waiting for his lunch. Slowly and quietly he waded past us. He was hardly making a ripple. He bent his head into the water and in one scoop and one gulp, a fish was captured and swallowed that quickly. It was completely incredible, best field trip ever, we were all stunned. His search was over. He was satisfied and so was I.

A Blue Heron standing in the lake with a fish in its beak getting ready to devour it whole.

A Blue Heron standing in the lake swallowing a whole fish.

Without a Shadow Of a Doubt

It was thrilling to see the The Great Blue Heron up close and in action…and did I mention it was my birthday as well? What a special gift to see such a special bird on my special day. I was feeling extra blessed!! So, if someone ever asks me….do you think the best ideas come from nature?…. how could I say no? How did I ever doubt the awe inspiring favorite of favorites, the Homey Blue Heron…. our inspiration, our mascot, and our new blog title?

A stunning Blue Heron wading in blue lake water by the shore, looking rather stoic amidst the green branches. Being around nature can spark the best ideas.

Here is my award-winning image of the elusive and wonderful Blue Heron! Sorry I ever doubted you. Our mission was successful! We came, we saw, we were enlightened…and so the Homey Blue Heron blog was born!