I’m honored to be a guest on the Journaling with Nature Podcast with Bethan Burton. It was so lovely to talk with her and I feel like we are kindred spirits.

You can also find the podcast here on Bethan’s site, Journaling with Nature, or Apple Podcast Episode 116: Lisa Spangler – Watercolor Wanderer. I’ve been a longtime fan of Bethan’s podcasts and I highly recommend subscribing so you don’t miss one! You can also follow her adventures on Instagram @journalingwithnature.

Sideoats grama in bloom by Joseph A. Marcus.

Did you ever finish an interview and then you think of a bunch of things that you wished you’d remember to say? That’s what happened to me! So I thought I’d put some thoughts down here:

  • My Instagram name, @sideoats, comes from my love of prairies — sideoats grama is the state grass of Texas and my favorite grass — shhhh, don’t tell the other grasses! Find out more about sideoats grama here on the Wildflower Center plant database. This is a wonderful resource for looking up more information about native plants.
  • I do the website for the Native Prairies Association of Texas, a nonprofit land trust. Find an article with a much better definition of prairies here.
  • Did you know that of the original 20 million acres of tallgrass prairie, less than 1% now remains? It hurts my heart that kids are taught more about lions and tigers and the rainforest than our own prairie ecosystem. This article on Why Prairies Matter is a great read.
  • John Muir Laws is one of my art heroes — his videos and books really helped me recover from 6 (!) leg surgeries after I tore my ACL while hiking. I should write up a post on that soon!

Let me know if you give it a listen and if you have any questions. Reflecting on our conversation makes me so thankful for the nature journaling community.

Categories: Press

2 Comments

Bob Cochran · March 6, 2023 at 7:04 pm

Hi Lisa, speaking as a deaf individual…seeing a podcast on YouTube is a new experience for me. And it is more than an hour in length, too! I tried it out for a minute or so and I think the closed captioning feature is working. So I will try out the podcast over the next few days.

How was this podcast done — was it all set up and carried out remotely, with Bethan in one location and you in a different location? Or did you meet in person and record the podcast at that time? I’m not certain how they are planned and produced.

    Lisa Spangler · May 8, 2023 at 6:10 pm

    Hi Bob! I just noticed that I didn’t hit reply so my comment didn’t publish — sorry for the delay! Yes, Bethan is in New Zealand and I’m in Texas and she used software to do a video call so we could see each other while we were chatting. Then she edited it to shorten it some. I’ll confess I was a little nervous at first but by the end it was like chatting with an old friend.

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