You are warmly welcomed.

About This Project

Microseasons are an ancient way of marking time.

Looking through this lens, we find four main seasons subdivided into 72 microseasons per calendar year. Each microseason is a five-day period of time filled with ever-changing natural wonders: wildflowers, mosses, fungi, scents, sensations and shifting light.

Always something new.

You and I are sensitive creatures with microseasonal cravings. We live on a planet in constant motion, and every tiny season holds unique gifts for us to savor—each in our own way.

This project is a way to document my hiking practice by using a microseasonal framework to guide and inspire me through a year.

About Me

I’m Ann, a former ICU nurse, now working in the field of Dentistry.

In between two very different types of nursing careers, I took a long hiatus to raise and homeschool my children. I now live in the lovely forested (and basketball-crazed) town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina with my husband and our teenage rat terrier, Killian.

I’m honored to do the gentle work of caring for patients—a combination of artistry, science, teamwork and compassion. And as much as I love my job, nursing—dentistry in particular—can be a strain on the body and the spirit. Spending time in nature helps me to manage feelings of burnout and to release the physical and emotional stresses that come with working in a fast-paced healthcare setting.

On days off from nursing, I leave behind all those layers of clinical concerns, lace up my well-worn hiking boots, and explore the microseasons of our local forests.🌿

The Newsletter

In all of this, I try to keep my writing routine very relaxed, letting each walk inspire whatever creative response wants to be expressed in me. I’d love to share this practice with you, in the hope that you’ll find your own way to enjoy the microseasons wherever you live.

My aim is to spark a desire in you: to get outside and enjoy the small seasons, to help you notice a freshness in your ordinary days, and to let this calm and energize you for doing your work in the world.

Microseasons will be delivered to your inbox monthly. Occasional shorter posts will be published via the Substack Notes app. Mindful of my clinical work, I’m still experimenting to find the best rhythm for writing and publishing here on my off time. Thank you for your patience.

The full archive is available on my home page. Please feel free to comment on any post. I’m always curious to hear your feedback and would be honored to know you better.

Let’s walk together.

—Ann