All Seasons

Nature’s Hearts

Stacey Hayes

I enjoy looking for patterns and shapes in nature when walking and playing outside with my son. It’s a different way of seeing.

The woods behind our house recently surprised me with many heartleaf plants (Hexastylis arifolia), which are evergreens found on forest floors.

I was inspired to look for more hearts in nature. It took close observation, but I discovered them in unexpected places.

I was reminded that hearts come in many different configurations, states, shapes, and sizes. These are some of the photos that I took over the past month.

A lone heartleaf that found a home among the moss.
A duo of hearts…imperfect and a bit tattered, yet, comforted by each other.
A community of hearts, congregated together and enjoying the warmth of the sun.
A frosted heart. Kissed by the snow.
Ivy hearts trailing up a stump.
A heart on the inner bark of a tree.
A once hidden heart now revealed.
A granite heart, held and cherished.
A river rock shaped over time by the flow of water.
Hearts celebrating and connected as one.
Sketch of a hickory nut heart.

What shapes or patterns do you notice in nature? Are there hearts in your neck of the woods?

Published by Stacey Hayes