>>1560209>>1558851>>1560271For about a year now, I have been using Michigan field guilds, by Stan Tekiela to identify local birds, trees, and wildflowers, pic related. It's actually a very challenging hobby, as you will discover that many trees and flowers look the same to the untrained eye. But in the last year or so, I have come to identify dozens of wildflowers, trees, and birds by sights. I can identify about 20 birds calls too. Knowing how to identify local flora and fauna has completely transformed the way I view nature. It's like I am parsing reality in a totally new way, the details and the patterns that you begin to recognize are profoundly interesting. For example, when I started to learn to identify wildflowers, suddenly, I started to see wildflowers everywhere I looked, even in locations that were very familiar to me. What is really bizarre is that in over 30 years of living, I have no idea if those flowers were always there or not. I simply was never conscious of them before.
To anyone reading this post, I highly, highly recommend acquiring field guilds for whichever state/region you live in, and learn to identify everything around you. It's a very rewarding skill to acquire and you will have the most pleasant and peaceful walks in nature like you've never known.
