Looking for the Magic✨: A Nature Almanac
Aug 2025 / It is all about the Sunflowers 🌼
Welcome to Looking for the Magic✨: A Nature Almanac
No flower says summer to me like the sunflower. Tall and golden, their faces to the sun, surrounded by a whirl of bees and sticky green stems.
They always remind me of my mother, hands deep in the dirt. I can still hear the crinkle of thin plastic as she coaxed plants from their nursery pots and into the ground.
Back East, summer always felt fleeting – something you had to catch while it lasted. But here in California, the heat often fades the green as the season stretches on way past its welcome.
This July, though, has been a dream: barely brushing 80 degrees, with a cool breeze drifting through most days. It meant a lot more trips to the botanical gardens for me.
Things included this month:
The flower of the month: Sunflowers
National Moth Week: The little beauties of the night
The Sturgeon Moon is August 9th
Creative Prompts to inspire joy
The Sunflowers
I live fifteen minutes from Altadena, one of the epicenters of the fire that took over 7000 homes here in Los Angeles. Many of us avoid driving through there. It is a brutal reminder of what is possible - how one mighty wind can blow through and change everything.
I drove through the neighborhood of empty lots a few weeks ago. But this time, instead of piles of ash, there were sunflowers. Big, bushels of bright yellow petals reaching for the sun. I parked my car and walked up to them, only to discover tiny ladybugs and loads of bees making it their home.
Sunflowers are phytoremediators – they can pull toxins and heavy metals from the soil (like arsenic and even radiation). After Chernobyl and Fukushima, fields of sunflowers were planted to help absorb contaminants. They are hardy annuals that often pop up first. Their deep roots and fast growth help stabilize soil and prevent erosion after a fire. And as I discovered, they attract pollinators that encourage a healthy ecosystem. In other words, they are magical.
National Moth Week
I’ve always been captivated by the beauty and fleeting presence of moths. They are like delicate works of art fluttering through the night sky. They often find their way into my floral pieces. I delight in coloring them.
I recently learned that National Moth Week takes place during the last week of July. In honor of these mysterious nighttime visitors, here’s a little something to celebrate them.
The Sturgeon Moon 🌙 August 9th
The Sturgeon Moon will officially peak on August 9th at 3:35 A.M. ET, but don’t wait because August 8th will still offer a magical full moon.
But what is a “sturgeon” you ask? Well, it’s quite fascinating…
The Sturgeon Moon got its name from the freshwater lake sturgeon fish traditionally caught during August in the Great Lakes region.
This fish was a staple for Native Americans. Long ago, when it was abundant in late summer months. They are bottom–feeding fish that were best caught in the moonlight.
They are prehistoric-looking fish referred to as “living fossils” that have been traced back to around 136 million years ago. That means they existed along with the dinosaurs.
Bizarre fact: It takes a Female around 20 years to start reproducing, and they can only reproduce every 4 years.
They have evolved in size from the size of a bass to a monster sturgeon as big as a Volkswagen. Take a look online. You might think a fisherman caught a shark. But unfortunately, they are rare today due to overfishing, pollution, and damage to their lake habitat.
✨ The Sturgeon Moon Meditation:
Create a little space: Light a candle or incense, sip some tea.
Take some slow breaths: Let yourself be in the moment.
Close your eyes: Visualize yourself beside a wide, calm lake under the soft glow of a full moon. The water’s surface shimmers in the moonlight. The air is warm and fireflies flicker about. Imagine the moonlight reflecting across the water , steady, wise. Beneath the surface – a great sturgeon swimming slowly, gracefully through the depths. It moves with purpose, as if it carries the memory of the earth itself. If you wanted to spend the rest of the summer doing one thing, what would it be? By the time September came around, what would make you feel like it was time well spent? It is not always about what we accomplish, but what we slow down to enjoy.
Journal: Open your eyes and write a few pages of what came to mind. Sometimes, when we get quiet and listen, the answers are clear.
Okay, this is so extra, but I kind of love it: Moon Water Magic
I’ve started doing this every month. 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 by the plants at my art desk. It just feels a little bit magical. 😊.
🌿Creative Prompt Ideas for August:
Press Found Foliage: One of my favorite things to do is pressing leaves and flowers I collect on walks. I’ll even share my process with you here next week. The best part? You don’t need to buy anything or have any special skills. Just take a walk with a small bag, gather a few leaves or blooms, and tuck them into a heavy book you already have at home. That’s it - nature’s magic, captured.
Art Cards: I keep a stack of 4 x 4 cards on my desk for quick little sketches. When I’m busy with a big project but still want a creative moment, I take 15 minutes to draw something small: a bloom from my walk, a snail, a cluster of leaves. I keep a cup of markers ready so it’s effortless to start. Over time, you’ll build a pile of these mini artworks – little seeds of ideas that might bloom into something bigger later. They’re also just a lovely way to start your day.
Attend a Local Event: Over the weekend, my family went to an outdoor art installation in Beverly Hills. It led to a chain of small, unexpected delights: a nostalgic stop at an old NY-style pizza place we hadn’t visited in years (both sides of the family are New Yorkers), a scenic drive along Mulholland Drive with sparkling city views, and even an estate sale full of vintage kitchen treasures. It reminded me how much magic hides in familiar places. Look up a local event, wander a different route, and see what surprises your own town has to offer.
The Sturgeon Moon Meditation: Maybe meditation feels a little too “woo-woo” to you. Or maybe, like me, you struggle to sit still. But learning to sit in silence with yourself is a gift - and the more I practice, the more I notice in the world around me. Even a few quiet minutes under the glow of the Sturgeon Moon can shift how you feel. We all have to begin somewhere.
Until Next Time✨,
Kim
Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece! Every piece of it is radiant!