Beauty During The Great Hunkering
A magnifying loupe (or plain old magnifying glass) can turn small world into immense universe anytime, but especially now during Washington State’s Stay Home-Stay Healthy order (or whatever self-isolating routine you’re following).
I hope this blog finds you all well, safe, strong, and entertained.
My husband and I feel so fortunate to be able to shelter in place in our home, near friendly and caring neighbors, and within walking distance to all the food and essentials we need. A cleared calendar means more writing time for me and my husband can teach his GIS courses for The Evergreen State College online from home.
My niece, Emma (featured in April 3rd's Olympian), moved in with us in early December to work as a Washington state organizer for Elizabeth’s Warren’s campaign. She is hunkering down with us and working remotely on a WA state congressional campaign. We spend our days moving our laptops from room to room, walks (after 5 p.m. is a great time to encounter neighbors also out walking), puttering in the garden, watching movies, playing board games, figuring out YouTube Live or Zoom chats, dancing in the kitchen, making bread, etc. Still…we crave a break from the small world we’ve created.
Here is where the magnfiying loupe comes in. It’s a small plastic eyepiece with a magnifying lens that brings the gorgeous intricate details of the natural world up close and personal. It’s also known as a “jeweler’s loupe.” They come in 5X or 10X magnifications. You place the larger end gently against the bony part of your eye socket and then move in so the small end is about 2 inches away from your chosen object—flowers, leaves, lichen-covered twigs, the underside of sword ferns, tree bark, etc. I 100% guarantee you’ll say “Wow!” or one its variants “Cool!” “Awesome!”
The tiny details of things that are so easy to overlook now seem huge—pistils, stamens, spores, scales, a bug’s wings or antennae, the tiny bits of things in the dirt (my favorite).
The magic comes from changing the scale of things. These tiny intricate worlds will seem inordinately huge and huge. Let your eye linger. Roam around inside and around a flower or leaf. Lose yourself for a little while. Enjoy the textures, patterns, colors, fuzz, ripples, and grooves. It’s an Alice-in-Wonderland adventure. It’s a brain vacation with no side effects.
If you can’t get outside, the loupe works well inside, too. Explore the back of your hand, your fingerprints, the your morning buttered toast, the inside of an apple, the tops of broccoli, granules of sugar, the carpet, the fury of your patient sleeping dog, pixels in a photo from the newspaper (printed edition!), the foam atop your IPA.
These loupes are inexpensive ($3.95) and can be acquired through Private Eye (in Lyle, WA!)
Double your fun by putting the loupe up to your cellphone camera and take close-up photos.
Use your loupe with your cell-phone camera to take close-up photos. Here are the new leaves of a salal plant. Cool!
If you want to completely disappear into the the marvelous macroscopic universe…you can get special attachment lenses (macro and telephoto, too) for your smart phone, Android, or tablet and zoom way in. You can purchase such at reasonable prices from various online vendors. Just search for “clip-on mobile lens set.” The photos below feature early spring buds of native plants. (All photos by M.M. Ruth)
End Note: With Governor Jay Inslee’s new order to shelter in place extended to May 5, this is the perfect time to enjoy the beauty of spring in your back yard…and to remember to pass on that beauty if you can. Wandering around your yard with a magnifying loupe will not help the neediest in our community who do not have a home to shelter in or the resources to buy food, medicine, necessities—not to mention a magnifying loupe. Both the Thurston County Food Bank and South Sound Senior Services need volunteers to help getting food and meals to those in need in our community.