Pax the French bulldog (and hero of the children's book series Mighty Pax's Misadventures) is in his stroller, squinting in the sun while I take this picture. Behind him stands a gorgeous beast of a derelict house with tons of tall (and broken) windows, patio that goes around a half tower. It's historically classified, so even though it's housing tons of wildlife, including rats, it can't be torn down. Which is part of the reason I love it :)

I'm working on a new children's book! Pax doesn't know it yet, but this is the setting for his newest adventures, hence his nonchalant air 😉
#MightyPax #kidlit #writerwanderings

A pile of straw, dead leaves, and small branches. Totally unassuming, until you find the pile has been staked out all around, and a sign placed which reads: "NID D'ABEILLES" (French for bees' nest). Young trees grow all around, protecting this temporary home from the harsh summer sun.

When you take a stroll through a patch of nature inside the city, and someone's clearly marked a bees' nest so you don't disturb them 🥰🐝
#Brussels #beeterritory #donotdisturb #writerwanderings

Branches laden with hundreds of light, bright fucshia flowers on this sweet afternoon walk, when the rest of the year it looks like any other hedge!

Bougainvillea to brighten your Friday!
#burstingnature #brightflowers #writerwanderings #tootiredtothinkbeyondawww

Two large tree trunks lying on the ground after having been chopped down. The ground itself is covered in wood chips from all the other trees that lost their lives here after the same storm. The closest tree trunk, it's cracked bark covered in patches of moss, has a small branch sprouting new leaves, despite it being cut down a while ago.

I'm always astounded by how, even when cut down, nature strives to live to the fullest.

#finalbreath #littlemiracles #wondrousnature #writerwanderings

A tiny shoot of nascent buds, all closed in a small bouquet of young green leaves on an otherwise mostly naked branch.

The tree branch is now covered in leaves, with small garlands of apple blossoms in full bloom. The buds in the previous picture are opening up to offer their delicately rounded petals up to the morning sun.

Blink and sudden green shoots and deep pink blossom buds appear. Blink again, and you're now facing a short apple tree in full bloom!
How closely do you pay attention to nature as it slowly dances through the seasons?
#natureinspring #tinyappletrees #blossoms #writerwanderings

A long clump of bergenia flowers, each of their five petals open invitingly to any wandering bee. Their waxy leaves are long, and deeply lined, and when you rub them together, they make a squeaky sound, hence the nickname 😄

A grape of bergenia flowers to add a touch of brightness to your day!
Though they somewhat resemble Sakura flowers, their pinks are much deeper, and they also go by the very elegant name of pigsqueak 🙂

#cityinbloom #flowerseverywhere #spring #writerwanderings

A low tree branch laden with bunches of thick magnolia blooms hangs over you. Their long, waxy petals point to the church on the other side of the street, which is a pretty structure from 1910! The cloudless sky is darkening now that the sun has just set.

Sweet magnolias, whose blooms are that more magnificent that they are ephemeral ❤️

#flowersinbloom #beautyinthecity #writerwanderings

You're low on the ground, at the foot of an old tree, roots extending past you (though these are out of frame). Amongst dozens of little tree seedlings, are a handful of grape hyacinth flowers. Their inverted purple cones are bright and soft-looking, and I a favorite among the queen bees! (One of the was buzzing happily around them, though she flew off to visit the nearby tulips while I took this pic.)

It's the first day of April!! Expect more flowers from me 💐
Here's a few grape hyacinth, who thought it would be fun to grow out the side of a tree--the tree doesn't mind she likes the company!
#nature #springflowers #writerwanderings

The sun is barely risen over the horizon, but you can't see it except in the pale gold it's casting over the lake's grassy banks. A young tree stands rod straight in the foreground, solitary sentinel. On the lake's wide expanse, still as a cold mirror, rest a group of ducks. Their dark shapes seem to hover above the distance treeline's own dark reflection.

Peaceful morning...
These are some of my best moments to write, as everyone else is often still in bed (including Pax).
#writerwanderings #Belgium #nature

Up on a black-painted wall, along a barely-seen wire, the vines are flowering. Tons of little round pick buds, a few delicate blooms with slightly pointed petals (like elf ears!), among shining waxy leaves of green

The flowers are in bloom all over the city.
It's a month too early, but they're still so pretty ♥️🌸

#writerwanderings #preciousnature #springflowers

You're standing at the top of a hill in the sun, a flowery bush in front of you. You can see the path you just took winding its way down and around your hill. Spruce trees in the mid-distance, more in the background, along with deciduous trees whose leaves have not grown back in yet. Al the way down the hill, peeking from behind the trees, is a lake, its calm waters reflecting the cool blue of the cloudless sky above.

View from the top of the Terhills national park* this early spring ♥️
The lakes are all that's left of the gravel and sand quarries that stood here last century.

*Officially named the Hoge Kempen National Park

#Belgium #writerwanderings #ourbeautifulworld

The ground of the forest is covered in dead long grass, the trees rise up to the wintery blue sky, limbs barren. But at the end of the path, a shy evening sun reveals patches of green grass.

Just a few more days till spring, and I think the forest knows...
#almostspring #lightattheendofthepath #limburg #belgium #writerwanderings