Uh oh...
It appears that you're using a severely outdated version of Safari on Windows. Many features won't work correctly, and functionality can't be guaranteed. Please try viewing this website in Edge, Mozilla, Chrome, or another modern browser. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!
Read More about this safari issue.
Spring is in full swing here in Arkansas, and the natural world is buzzing with life. May brings wildflowers, migrating birds, and the hum of insects in the air. It’s a perfect time to slow down and let your sketchbook bloom with observations from your own backyard or favorite trail.
There is something about the lingering daylight, warm breezes, and singing birds of springtime that snap me out of that funk I have been in for the last few months. I spend a lot of time outdoors, and I always feel inspired to revive my nature journaling habit, which fell to the wayside over the long winter.
Starting in May, I hope to inspire you, too! Each month, I’ll share 25 creative prompts to help you experience the natural beauty of Arkansas in a new way, whether you want to draw, write, snap a photo with your phone, or simply meditate on the daily topic.
May Nature Journaling Prompts
- Dandelion Days
- Flying Insects
- Garden Watch
- Canopy of Colors
- Tiny Worlds
- Blooms
- Emerging Leaves
- From the Riverbank
- Shadows in Nature
- Arkansas Wildflowers
- Feelin’ Froggy
- Swirling Vines
- What’s Buzzing?
- May Rain
- Pretty as a Picnic
- New Life
- Backyard Safari
- Sketch a Scent
- Morning Dew
- Favorite Wild Spot
- Movement
- Listen & Draw
- Find a Fern
- Changing Skies
- Celebration of Green
How to Use These Prompts
I’ve given you 25 prompts to choose from. If you journal daily, you can go through each prompt in order and take a break on the weekends. If you’re not that committed, just pick a few that appeal to you. New and unsure what to do? That’s okay! Grab yourself a piece of paper, and we’ll do a few prompts together.
Check out my first nature journaling article for ideas on materials and how to get started.
Prompt 2 – Flying Insects
My son, George, tackled this prompt like a pro! He wrote an acrostic poem for the word insects and then painted some blobs of watercolor around the poem. When they dried, he used a Sharpie to turn the blobs into a variety of adorable bugs!
Prompt 10 – Arkansas Wildflowers
Perhaps you have noticed the abundance of beautiful wildflowers popping up on roadsides all around Arkansas. Did you know that the Arkansas Department of Transportation has a wildflower program and sprinkles wildflower seeds along highways all over the state? The pink evening primrose, pictured at the top of this article, made the perfect subject for a quick watercolor painting.
Prompt 15 – Pretty as a Picnic
Each spring we eagerly await the return of local strawberries, and especially the strawberry shortcake from the Bulldog Restaurant in Bald Knob. For this prompt, I painted a bowl of strawberries following a tutorial by one of my favorite watercolorists, Andrea Nelson.
Nature journals can be very personal, but if you’d like to share some of your pages with us on Instagram, you can use #onlyinarknature. If you share a post, we may feature it in an upcoming article. Check back at the end of May for the June prompts. Until then, Happy Journaling!
We do the work.
You check your email.
Sign up for our weekly e-news.
Get stories sent straight to your inbox!
Like this story? Read more from Julie Kohl
Tucked between Little Rock and Searcy on I-57, Beebe, Arkansas, offers a...
My family and I have always loved a good adventure, and there’s nothing...
I was shopping at our local Arkansas Walmart when I came across a divided...
Join the Conversation
Leave a Comment