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In my nature journaling project for 2025, I am following the Japanese calendar of 72 microseasons. This involves splitting the year into 72 little ‘seasons’ of about 5 days each, according to a combination of the lunar and solar calendar. Traditionally, in Japan, each season was given a name according to important astronomical events or changes in nature that typically happen about that time.
Our typical “four seasons” in the UK has always seemed a clunky idea to me, as there are enormous amounts of overlap and gradual shifting. So I was immediately inspired when I first heard of the concept of breaking down the year into smaller chunks.
The Inspiration
I was first introduced to the concept of the 72 microseasons when listening to Mary Jo Hoffman speaking on the Journaling with Nature podcast (listen to the episode here https://www.journalingwithnature.com/podcasts/episode-161-mary-jo-hoffman). Mary Jo uses photography as her medium to track the changes in nature. You can see more of her stunningly beautiful project at https://stillblog.net/ As a part of her wider study, Mary Jo took a year to focus on depicting the microseasons of her region of Minnesota, USA, as published in her book STILL.
Naturally, I next wondered whether anyone had examined the microseasons for the UK. I found two books ‘Light Rains Sometimes Fall‘ by Lev Parikian and ‘Nature’s Calendar‘ by Kiera Chapman, Rowan Jaines, Lulah Ellender, and Rebecca Warren . These are both books of nature writing expressing the 72 seasons in my country. I have not fully read them yet – in order to make sure all ideas are my own and inspired only by my area, I am reading them slowly this year, after I have already chosen my focus for each particular microseason.
The Process
So we have a big US photography project and some wonderful UK nature writing, but as far as I know, no UK artist has yet tackled this idea. This year, I am giving it a try! I am using my nature journaling approach to creating a visual representation of the passing of a year in terms of the shifts observed in 72 little seasons. I am using a mixed-media collage technique in my new journal and try to respond to the year organically.
This means that although, on paper, separately, I have mapped out the microseasons I am going to be following, in the book itself I am presenting the year visually with no dates and no words. I want to show nature’s movement through the year in as visceral and responsive a way as possible, using just image, just art. I am going to be including lots of natural materials: botanical inks and handmade paints, and flower, leaf, and bark pressings.
Every microseason will have its own journal spread, inspired by my usual outdoor nature journaling, exploration, photography and wider artistic practices. I will share each page here on this blog and on my YouTube channel.
The Setup
This year, I am using an A5 storyteller journal by Lotus Blu Book Art. It has 70 spreads, meaning I need to double up on one microseason at some point. The paper inside is thick Khadi paper, one of my absolute favourite papers. It is cotton rag paper capable of withstanding a large amount of repeated ink wash – perfect for my methods.
The first thing I needed to do was establish the microseason periods I would be using. Loosely based on that set out in ‘Nature’s Calendar’ with a little tweaking and rearranging to suit me, I decided my periods for the year and set a schedule.
So far, I have found it interesting to be doing something so rigorous in terms of specific time periods and dates in my notebook, but actually the journal itself is intended to be free and just show the passing of time through the changes in subject and character of the artwork.
We are already into February, and I have several pages to catch up with but I will be revealing each one separately in its own little blog, honouring each little season specifically. I hope I can get caught up over the next month or so, there will be plenty for you to see.
For more detail on all of the above, check out my project reveal YouTube video:
Find Out More
If you’d like to give this a try yourself, my chosen microseason calendar is included in my Nature Journaling Ideas template pack https://alexboonart.com/product/nature-journaling-ideas-pack/ This pack, plus a whole load of tutorials and video courses, is included for members of the Nature Journaling Circle https://www.naturejournalingcircle.com/ which is the best place to support my work and learn more about nature journaling from me.
