Our Green Backpack

The first time I saw this bird I was overcome with emotion. I actually cried. 🤷🏻‍♀️
I mean, how could something so perfectly red be so perfectly natural?
It caught me off guard and I cried.
Every time since then? I haven’t cried but have given myself the moment to just wonder, wide eyed, at the most incredible creations that Mother Nature has made for us to enjoy.
This is one of them - the Scarlett Ibis in English, Guarà in Portuguese, or Red Bird.
I mean… what a creation! Have you ever been overcome with emotion with nature’s surprises?🤩

Weekend in sight! Who’s off to find adventure?

Go barefoot.
At least every once in a while.
Sand, grass, mud, even asphalt (!) or a crunchy forest trail.
Go barefoot. Let your feet tingle with the contact between breathing toes and the ground, breathing too.
It’s ok if it’s a Thursday, a weekday! Our feet don’t know the difference anyway 😉
I could list all the health benefits and get all sciency here about WHY barefoot walking is so awesome for you… but there’s Google for that and you can look it up😄.
So I’ll just leave it at -
Go barefoot
Totally unscientifically speaking of course, it’s good for your soul.✨✨✨
Happy Thursday friends 💚
. . Leona

He flies through the air, screaming in glee and I capture these moments of extreme happiness through my lens even though my inner momma anxiously whispers (no, yells!) in my ear - is that too high? Are they crazy? 🫣

Any other slightly-anxious-but-trying-to-go-with-the-flow-mommas out there?

It’s funny, we don’t have a 9-5, or a regular schedule per se. And as we all know, the little tasks that life require somehow take so much time and plenty of energy. House maintenance includes regular things like washing clothes and hanging them to dry, doing dishes (and more dishes), but also ‘country specific’ things like washing and hanging mosquito nets and now, feeding the chickens too! But in the midst of it all, there are waterfalls. There are beaches. There are sunsets and getaways to beautiful places. (Even though we live in a beautiful place, there’s nothing quite like getting away to a new destination. Right?)
Life lived. Living. Going through the motions but not letting the motions get so mundane that we stop paying attention.
And if we stop paying attention, that’s okay too. But let that phase be short and the living long!

Have a beautiful week! ✨

I was looking at these two looking at the view.
And it occurred to me. This coast line as it is now… is temporary. I’m glad to be here to capture that this view existed. That there was a before.
Before huge hotels.
Before, when nature still resisted “development”.
Before, when people joined at places like this to celebrate nature and her mere existence. When we understood that her value is actually higher AS IS.
Change is inevitable, that’s what they say. And what I’ve also come to learn. And so I’m learning to live with changes. Especially the ones that are out of my control.
For now, we stand here. My boys looking out. At this view. This very one. And breathe the moment. Right?

It’s the weekend! Hope you get to immerse yourself in the wild for at least part of it 🍃!

This iguana is a local - she lives on a tree in our yard and often makes an appearance. There is something to be said for the occasional dinosaur (cause that’s basically what she is) taking sun a few steps away from you. And that’s what I hope we can get more of in this world - this coexistence. With nature. Other beings. (Even if they find the worst places to p*e and poo🤦🏻‍♀️). And it doesn’t have to be an iguana. Perhaps there’s a cool crow to notice in the yard, or a spider weaving a crazily symmetrical perfect web?

Anyway, this really was just gonna be a happy weekend kind of post. But I got carried away. 😁

Sending sunshine if you need it, rain if you prefer, or just a good dose of leaves rustling in the wind as we enter the weekend 💚

When he was still in my tummy, I remember sitting on a stool at my grandmother’s house and observing some ants that walked by my toes. I remember thinking - I hope my child has time to sit on a step and contemplate ants. That is what I desire for him. Curiosity. Contemplation. Time to sit. Do nothing. Think. About ants. Or not think at all.
I want the wiring in his brain to have a healthy combination of all of it.
But then, don’t we all?

I showed Bruno this photo and said how I loved it and his reflection. Especially the detailed wrinkles and focus on his right foot. I got all photographer on him and went on and on.
He glanced at my screen remembering the moment, and said; ‘ha! I was just trying to protect my balls from the impact’ 🤣

And well, I thought that was funny.

End of story.

😁

Just a photo of my two favorite people. On one side the moon was rising (swipe to see it 🤩) and I focused purely on that. But when I turned around and looked behind me I saw these two with the most perfect after-sunset colors. So here they are - my humans on one side and the moon on the other.
Have a beautiful day💚

I was gonna write a ‘tips for doing adventure sports with kids’ post. But I got stuck.
Because everyone has a different version of adventure. And the truth is, if it applies to adventure it probably applies to almost every other aspect of parenting (in my humble opinion). Because isn’t parenting the biggest adventure of them all?!

So as with everything, your kids will take cues from your enthusiasm (or fear). And well, here’s how we do it around here -

🌱it has to be natural - inevitably they will develop a minimum appreciation (at least) for the sport/activity

🌱don’t force them. Think about it, as an adult, how would you respond to someone incessantly pushing you to try something?
Try to say things that make whatever the activity is, relatable to a child. For example, ‘we’re going for a walk in an enchanted forest!’ Or, ‘let’s see if this kite makes me fly like a bird!’ Or, ‘ let’s try this magic carpet that will help us float in water!’

🌱Small doses. This is key. When trying something new, don’t plan on hours of doing it. Micro doses keep the kids intrigued and wanting more next time. It’s better than reaching the ‘meltdown’ phase. (I know you know what I mean😂)

🌱 Get them involved: explain what you’re doing, involve them in the process of setting up (with kiting, they can help with the lines)

🌱 Explain the benefits of participating in the adventure; how it will make them grow strong, how it’s like food for their body and brain. (Kids love being the strongest/tallest/bravest as we all know).

Most importantly…

🌱 Keep it fun. You don’t have to actually achieve the goal of whatever sport it is. Especially the first few times. Remember, it’s about the journey, not the destination ✨ Keep the journey playful and light for you and them and the very least that will happen is you’ll have a great time 😉

Hope this image brings you calm for a beautiful week! ✨

Turns out keeping up with a social media account is not as easy as it might appear!
Because as you know, life isn’t only in these squares my friends. It’s happening all around us; all the time.

I’m an ‘all or nothing’ kind of person and I confess it’s been hard to find balance. (I also think I may have been born in the wrong century because I truly enjoy life with less screen time in it. It’s significantly lighter, calmer and slower paced.)

I’ve taken a step back from posting as often and I hope you’ll stick around as we continue this journey but in a way that is more in line with what we’re preaching, I suppose.
I know Instagram will be around for a while, but my 4 year old is turning 5 soon and I want to make sure I’m paying attention to him as it’s happening! His face is changing in front of my eyes - I can see the marks of a boy who, I swear, was a baby just last year!

If I’m not on here as much, it’s because life can’t wait for me to update social media, at least not as often as before. I dedicate time, energy and oh-so-much love to my photography, the editing process and last but not least, my writing. So it shall continue. But I want to make it sustainable, long-term.

And as always, if you have any tips or a method to maintain the madness at bay - let me know 💚

‘When are you going to settle down?’ I remember being asked. Often. As if settling down was the ultimate goal to life.
Anyway, to all those who asked.. I have not settled down. And you know the best part? I found someone to not settle down with me!
I hope we continue to never settle down for many more moons, Bruno. Thanks for being on this wild journey with me. Happy Father’s Day 💚

Because this moonrise needed a spot on the feed. ✨

What’s your most memorable moon moment? (Is that a tongue twister?😅)

If you ask me why. Why I choose a simpler, ‘different’ life in a country far from what was normal and comfortable to me…
This is it. Being able to be on a hammock, even if for just ten minutes, before the day really starts. To look up at my 4 year old and have a quick conversation (even if sometimes silence would also be a good option 😅) and be able to start slower…

It makes a difference, ya know?

What do you do to help bring the day on a bit lighter?

It’s Friday! ✨ Hope you get to go outside and get a little muddy this weekend! 🌞

“Never be within doors when you can rightly be without.”
~C. Mason

Happy Friday friends 🌱

Full immersion.
No phone.
No computer.
Time as often as possible dedicated solely to feeling nature around me.
There are critics, I’m sure - some of us have to work, you know?
But I’d like to just say… believe it or not. I do work. 😉

In fact I used to have a ‘real job’ in a real office with real desks and people all around me!
It was a simple realization that made me change my life around. A tiny detail that perhaps would’ve gone unnoticed if I let myself continue in the rat race.

I. Wanted. A. Dog.

And I had no time for a dog. I mean, I used to go jogging during my LUNCH break. How on earth would I fit a dog into my busy schedule?

So one beautiful day, running along the Guanabara bay in Rio de Janeiro I stopped and reconsidered everything. I had recently had a health scare, I was working days, occasional nights and many weekends.

And in an instant I made a decision. I wanted to quit. Be a quitter, so to speak, of the life I was leading and try doing it differently. If I could just make the same amount of money I was making by putting together my own skills…

So guess what? I did. I did quit and I moved to a beach village and tried to figure out life with a slower rhythm. Within 1 month and 15 days I had a puppy. Within 2 months I was selling chocolate chip cookies and other baked goods to friends in this village I had adopted as home. I turned my photography hobby into a job and things started to come together.

I wasn’t rich but I was free. This was 7 years ago. And I just want to put it out here - there are ways to make life happen the way you want it to. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. In either direction. I did myself a favor a few years ago and took a hard look at where I was and where I wanted to be.

And I’ll leave this question here for you too. Are you where you want to be?

Sending all the love on this Thursday morning✨💚

This image basically speaks for itself. Bruno carrying a bunch of stuff somehow, N and the dogs following closely behind, and me, unseen but always there, even if I’m behind the camera. This is a typical scene for us.

Being immersed in the mangroves for the last month has been epic. There is so much life here - the silence is only broken by the sound of birds, flowing water and the occasional fisherman boat putt-putting by (ok fine, and N’s cries of excitement. There’s that too 😉).

What’s so cool is that so much that happens within the mangrove occurs in silence. The thousands of crabs don’t make a sound as quickly scurrying from hole to hole. There is endless life under the water, within the branches of the river - from sea horses to clams, fish, sea turtles, manatees (yes! We have manatees here!) and the tree roots themselves; sprouting, growing in conditions that are considered uninhabitable for any other plant life. Bubbling all over the place are vivid traces of life and if you’re not paying attention… they will probably occur without interfering in your day to day.

But it’s happening. While the world at large is sp*eding by; while the news media boggs us down with information from all sides; while social media tries to suck up all of our ‘free time’; this is how we find our balance. Immersing our little family in the bits of nature that surround us - through high and low tides, rivers, mud and roots. Being immersed in it is our little gift to ourselves.

So tell me, how do you keep it together with all the information that we receive day-in, day-out? Do you also turn to nature or is there some other trick that I just don’t know about? 💚

Activity: 🌱mangrove exploration
How far: in and out of the river and mud
⏱in nature: 11 hours and counting…
Where in the 🌎: Cajueiro da Praia, Piauí, Brazil

“I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing, than teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.”
-e.e. cummings

A former high school English teacher of mine passed away recently. I’ve been thinking about him often; remembering his classroom, our assignments; his deep chuckle and sarcastic sense of humor. Mr. P was a tough sell - he liked work that was thought out, that showed the effort that was put in. I remember how proud I felt after getting a good grade on one of the papers I submitted; how his words of encouragement pushed me forward as an awkward 10th grader. (Looking back at this now it is so clear how important it is to have a teacher who’s paying attention. ❤️)

On the first day of class he handed all of us students a printed sheet of paper with the above quote by e.e. cummings. It still hangs on my childhood bedroom wall. I have since emailed it, printed it and given it as gifts to numerous friends who I thought needed to hear it.

And today, I leave this quote here for you too. Because why not?

Mr. P., I sure hope you’re up there somewhere dancing. ✨✨

It’s Friday.
What a week. I remain sp*echless with the events coming out of the US and continue to feel pangs of guilt for posting my happy child playing freely when I know so many families are mourning their littles.
That’s the thing about life and death. They happen simultaneously; together; almost in unison. It’s impossible to grasp, yet the only certainty we have.
So I decided to post this photo anyway. It does not negate the immense feelings that arise when thinking about the last week. But coincides with them.
So go, have a beautiful weekend - go outside, play with your kids. Live your life💚 it’s beautiful; it’s fragile; it’s worth living my friends.

Hi!
It’s me, Leona 👋
12 years ago I decided to move to Rio de Janeiro and try to get what was a dream job for me at the time. 7 years ago I sold everything I had, packed up and left the ‘marvelous city’ to live in a small beach town and try to do things differently.

You’ve probably noticed by now, but I like to tell my story - our stories- from the other side of the lens. This is mostly because I’m the one with the camera in my hand and the spinning thoughts in my head! But also because my face contorts into strange expressions as soon as I notice that the camera is clicking in my direction and I have no idea what to do with my hands 🤷🏻‍♀️.

But today in a few hours, I’ll be jumping on a live with Alison from . (And me and my face will be live for at least 40 minutes!😉😁) I want to tell you more about how life took different turns for me; but more than that, how I participated in making that happen with conscious decisions about which direction I wanted my path to lead me. I’ll be sharing a bit about my story, and Alison about hers.

If you’re curious, if you want to know the pros and cons of living an unconventional lifestyle (I’m not sure I even like that term.. today we have so many varieties on ‘convention’ and ‘tradition’ that perhaps my life is just one more being lived👀.) Either way, I’ll be sharing about it! So join us! At the very least it’ll be a good excuse to grab a coffee and listen in on a fun conversation!💚

See you there?

Today, Monday, May 23 at 12:00 eastern time. (that’s noon, not midnight 😜)

The other day I had a crazy allergic reaction to something. I ended up telling my dad (he’s a doctor) about it a few days later on the phone and N overheard me and asked: mommy, is your tummy still hurting?
No, it’s not, I replied.
To which N said - so why are you still talking about it?

And there you have it. My four year old’s reminder to live in the present. What happened yesterday is old news. Why are we still talking about it N asks. And I simply don’t have an answer🤷🏻‍♀️

(I mean yes, we’re adults and life today does not exist in a vacuum from yesterday’s occurrences but if I get into that here it’ll take away from the beautiful purity of a four year old mind.)

So happy Saturday. Hope you’re out thinking about today as you live today. 💚

Aaand, Once again it’s May something and we have a challenge happening. (Am I the worst content creator that I just can’t post about our monthly challenges at the BEGINNING of the month?!🙈🤦🏻‍♀️
(See life is happening so fast all around me that sometimes I think my organizational skills fall behind in order to live. Not complaining, just sayin’.. 😁).

Anyway, we have dedicated May to the mangroves!
Our plan is to spend at least 15 hours immersed in the mangroves during this month.

But here’s the fun part! Did you know that you can float and swim with the tide as the mangrove rivers empty and fill? Did you know that you can kayak through the mangroves and listen to her silence as she bubbles life? Did you know you can walk in the mangrove and feel the thick, grey mud under your toes pulling you into the mangrove’s essence?

And excuse me if I’m a little excited here, but mangroves are just such incredible eco systems! The trees themselves have salt filtration systems (which is why they can live in coastal salty waters!); they are a ‘nursery’ for countless marine life; essential to the health of coral reefs; they stabilize shorelines and… So. Much. More.

So we’re spending the month immersed (as much as we can) in this place which brings land and sea together through its waters (not sweet, nor salty - did you know?). We’ll kayak, walk and swim through the river branches and tell you all about it as we go along.

Have you ever been to a mangrove?

Brazil gets a bad rap. Seriously though, I can not count how many times people have looked at me like I’m crazy for visiting/traveling/being in/loving Brazil.

You know the look, I’m sure - the ‘oh, Brasil, cool… how nice, must be beautiful..’ followed by ‘is it dangerous?’ look.

So here’s the thing - It really is so cool. And maybe yes, I’m a bit crazy. But not so much that I would recommend something publicly that I didn’t think was as awesome as I say it is!

First off, Brazil is massive so when I might suggest ‘visit Brazil’ I don’t mean that you should visit the whole country at once (unless you can, in which case you should! And then also explain to me how you took 5 years to travel!).

Do a bit of research (or reach out to me!) and figure out what fits best for you and your family. Is it beaches you're after? Do you prefer cities? National Park hopping? Animals?

Honestly, there is plenty of EVERYTHING here. (Except snow, I’m pretty sure you won’t find snow.)

I will of course be showing you content from the northeastern region of the country, from a state called Piauí, where we are now. You’ll see very few cities in these IG squares. 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I think you know that.

Brazil has 26 states plus the ‘capital district’, Distrito Federal. Piauí is in the northeast and has approximately 66 kilometers of coastline. We are just a dot on the map. In the midst of the biggest delta of the Americas (A delta is an ‘area of low, flat land shaped like a triangle, where a river splits into several branches before entering the sea.’) Anyway, we are in part of a river delta, surrounded by breathtaking nature, beach towns and wildlife and I hope to show you some of this region.

It’s time to demystify this incredible country!

There probably isn’t enough room on an Instagram post to say everything I want to say… so… Let me know below if you have specific questions about Brazil or shoot me a DM!