Looking for the Magic✨: A Nature Almanac

Jan 2026 / The secret world of mushrooms and owls 🪾🍄‍🟫🦉

Welcome to Looking for the Magic✨: A Nature Almanac

On Christmas Eve, the rain hit Los Angeles. Our streets became streams and rivers. This landscape suffers from drought and can’t allow passage for so much moisture. After a few days, I walked out into the chilly, damp morning, and there under the big oaks trees that shade my windows were masses of mushrooms. Not one or two, but dozens of clusters of big brown mushrooms ran rings around the bases of the oak trees. They seemed to appear out of nowhere, overnight.

In researching this magic, I stumbled upon the World Wide Wood. Yep, that is what it is referred to. It turns out there is a secret, intricate network right under our feet. It links all the trees and plants together. Like little hands, holding buckets full of water, and passing it to their neighbors whose homes are on fire. I always knew those mushrooms were cute. But I had no idea how big a role they play in nature.

Things included this month:

• Creature Feature: Owls

• The Wood Wide Web: The underground system we can’t see

• The Wolf Moon (The First Supermoon of 2026): January 3rd

• Creative Prompts: Time to hibernate

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🦉 Owls
I was curious why owls seem to be the bird of winter? I found they are one of the birds that stick around in the dead of winter, while others migrate south. In the bare landscape of ice and snow, they appear. When you hear a hoo in the silent night, it makes you look up with wonder. The very sound feels enchanting.

Little bits of wonder:

✦ Owls fly silently. Their feathers have soft, fringed edges that break up sound as they fly. This makes them almost completely silent – so their prey does not hear them coming.

✦ Their ears are asymmetrical on their heads: They pinpoint sounds in three dimensions, in total darkness

✦ Their eyes are fixed in their sockets. While their eyes stay still, their heads can move up to 270 degrees.

✦ They hunt by sound. They hunt in complete darkness and can hear a rustle beneath the snow.

✦ The owl’s hoot is used to communicate. Males and females will hoot back and forth to strengthen their bond. Barn owls, Barred owls, and Great Horned owls are known to mate for life.

✦ Owl release pellets. Their stomachs separate soft tissue from hard matter. They regurgitate pellets made of fur and bones from their meals. These pellets help scientists understand entire ecosystems – what lives, what thrives, what disappears.

Across cultures, owls have long been seen as symbols of wisdom. They are creatures that move between worlds in stories and film plots. This year, I unexpectedly came upon a family of owls nestled high in a tree. The soft puff of light feathers on the babies as their heads swiveled to watch us, the quiet way the parents kept watch over them and us – felt quite magical.

A little glimpse of the owls I stumbled upon…

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🪾🍄‍🟫 The Wood Wide Web

The Wood Wide Web is an underground network of fungal threads (mycelium) that connect the roots of trees and plants. Through this network, plants share nutrients, water, and information. After a lot of rain, the moisture allows the spores to easily spread. So when you see a bunch of mushrooms pop up, it is an indication of the vast network below.

Little bits of wonder:

✦ Fungi are the secret agents. It allows stronger trees to send nutrients to weaker or younger ones. They provide plants with minerals, water, and protection.

✦ Fungi help forests regenerate. It stabilizes soil after a fire, rebuilds nutrients, and prepares soil for new growth.

✦ Trees watch out for one another. When a tree is attacked by pests or stressed, it can send chemical signals through the fungal network. Nearby trees may respond by increasing their defenses.

✦ Fungi watch over the trees in winter. Winter mushrooms continue to break down fallen leaves, dead wood, and old roots. They clean the forest while everything else rests in winter.

✦ 90% of land plants rely on fungi. These fungal networks have existed for hundreds of millions of years, long before humans.

It turns out we all need community. Every small thing serves a purpose in the larger picture, even when that connection isn’t visible. Every once in a while, I stumble upon something – like a ring of honey mushrooms – that reminds me how much is happening beyond what I can see. How Mother Nature, in her wisdom, provides every piece needed for us to heal and be the best versions of ourselves.

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The Wolf Moon rises in the depths of winter – the first supermoon of the year. This is our fourth supermoon in a row. Lucky us. The lunar effects create gravitational pulls and king tides (where the tides are exceptionally low and high).

The name “Wolf Moon” is said to have originated from Celtic & Old English roots – brought here by European settlers.

In the dead of winter, the nights are very long. Wolves travel the landscape at night, using their calls to communicate. Food is scarce, and the hunt is not easy this time of year. The sound of them communicating dominated the landscape.

❄️ 🌕 The Wolf Moon Meditation:

It is believed humans have stronger intuition & emotions during supermoons. The ideal time to manifest new things in one’s life. During a Wolf Moon, it is time to rest, reflect, and decide which path your life might take this year. What would you like to bring out of this darkness and into the light?

1. Create a little space: Light a candle or incense, sip some tea, and get a warm blanket to get cozy.

2. Take some slow breaths: Let yourself be in the moment.

3. Sit in silence: It is time to sit with yourself in the quiet. It is time to go inward. To find ourselves again after the rush. To have no to-do lists. To have no goals in sight. Not today. Maybe not this week. Take the time to listen to what you need. We think we need to chase certain things, we are so busy trying that we have lost sight of why. Take time here to just be. Close your eyes, imagine yourself outside, standing in a forest, with a white blanket of snow under your feet, hold your arms out, and loo toward the moon. Inhale for 4 counts, hold your breath for 4 counts, and exhale for 4 counts. Do this for at least 5 minutes.

4. Journal: Open your eyes and take out a page of paper. What is one thing you would love to begin this month? No big list. No huge goal. Just one simple thing that would delight you. How can you make time to begin?

5. Rest: We really don’t allow ourselves rest. In January, there are no holidays on the calendar. The days of light are short. It is time to renew before we begin again. Give yourself the gift of rest. Because when we rest, we grow strong and focused for the future.

Little moon rituals you can indulge monthly…

✦ Crystal Moon Magic:
Do you collect crystals or gemstones? Ever since I was a kid living in Colorado, you could not keep me away from the table of gems. You can pop one of your favorites on the windowsill to soak up some moon magic energy. I carry a favorite stone in my pocket often. When I change, they go flying across the floor. Essentially, I have little magical stones living all around me.

✦ Moon Water Magic:
Leave a bowl or jar of water out overnight to soak up the moonlight. The next day, use it to water your indoor plants and infuse your space with a little lunar energy. I keep a mason jar of moon water on my desk to water my plants there. It infuses a little bit of moon magic into my workspace. 😊

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❄️ Creative Prompts for January:

✦ Book Nook Corner
There is nothing like curling up with a book that delights you. I have a little stand next to my couch that fits about 4 books. I place a poetry book, a journal, and a few books I would love to read in there. I try to make time daily to make a hot beverage, grab a blanket, and just read a chapter. It is so indulgent and delightful. You must try it.

✦ Deep Clean
You didn’t see this one coming. But there is something so transformative about cleaning out all the cluttered spaces of your home for the new year. It makes you feel new again. And you can actually find the packing tape and the batteries you re-purchased five times last year. 😊 Or is that just me?

✦ A New Menu
I don’t know about you, but I make the same meals over and over again. They just become a habit. And boring. And make life a little less magical. Take some time to bust out your recipe books or go online to find new inspiration. It is amazing how an hour of research can pay you back tenfold in the months to come.

✦ A Coffee Shop Date
Pack up your journal, sketchbook, or novel. You are headed to a new coffee shop. I see new coffeehouses pop up all the time around me. I used to never go to them. But then I made a new friend, and we began meeting at coffee shops. It’s funny how your mind and body respond when you get out of your routines. When you see the world from another angle. Make a date with yourself, ask a friend to meet you if you like. Just get out into the world and buy yourself a coffee.

✦ The Wolf Moon Meditation (listed above)
It is a new year full of possibilities. Allow yourself the grace to start slow. Give yourself the time to just be. Don’t just do this one meditation, but try to sit still for 5 minutes a day and breathe. You hold all the knowledge you need to feel whole. If only you were to slow down and listen to what it tells you. Once we know, we can find the courage to put it in motion.

Until Next Time✨,
Kim

Do you know someone who might enjoy this newsletter?

Starting this month, I will be posting the first invitation for “The Field Guide to You.” We are going to bust out those journals and explore the things that call us. We are going to make a map back to the person we always knew we could be. They are little invitations to explore all the things that light us up. Then use them as a lantern to light the way. Hope to see you there.