An Unexpected Discovery Within Nature

By Shannon Hicks

Sally Fine finds love in some of the oddest places.

She finds hearts, actually, in many unexpected locations. The Redding resident has put together a fun little book, called Hearts In Nature, that celebrates just that: hearts that the photographer, poet, and botanist has found while walking with an open mind and her camera ready to shoot. Hearts In Nature is a compilation by Mrs Fine of many of these photos accompanied by poetry she has written, or even the words of others — Thomas Jefferson, Vincent Van Gogh, Williams Shakespeare, and Henry Wordsworth among them. Mrs Fine’s son Morgan is also credited with a few of the short poems in the book.

Hearts In Nature, released in April by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc (Pittsburgh, 144 pages hardcover, $22; ISBN 0805970584) will be celebrated with a book signing session on Saturday, December 16, from 10 am until 2 pm, at Lexington Gardens, 32 Church Hill Road.

The vast majority of the photographs were shot “around here,” the author said. “About 98 percent of the hearts were found while I was walking in the woods around my home. A few were found when I was in Nantucket or on the beaches in Westport.”

The book was one of those projects that just seem to pull together naturally.

“I love to walk. I love nature,” said Mrs Fine. “I saw the first heart, and then more and more showed up over time.”

That first heart was a wonderful surprise: a heart-shaped pattern in the snow.

Mrs Fine holds a bachelor of science degree from New York University and is a member of The Guild of Natural Science Illustrations and the American Society of Botanical Artists. She is also a member of Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Westport Art Society, and Rowayton Guild of Artists.

“I also love poetry, so I started putting some of my words together and the project evolved. My husband [Jerrold] was the one who suggested putting this together as a book.”

The book is a collection of two-page spreads, with poetry on the left hand page and a photograph on the right hand page. Mrs Fine has found hearts in stones and boulders, tree trunks (as formations of the tree trunk as well as in mold or other growth on the trunk), in the leaves of a sunflower plant, milkweed pods, beach grass, even a potato chip and the wings of a few insects.

It’s a lovely idea that has touched readers since the book’s release last spring.

“I’ve heard from teachers who use the book to open their students’ eyes to what’s right around them in nature,” said Mrs Fine. “I have met some nice people thanks to this book, and have heard from people who have shared their stories.”

It’s an unexpected benefit of finding hearts in surprising places.