'helen is a nature lover' describe .
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Helen Keller had an acute sense of smell. She loved being in nature and the fragrance of flowers. One scent she was particularly fond of was the fresh scent of eucalyptus leaves. "When I was in California, where the eucalyptus grows in magnificent groves, I used to stand among them with my fingers reveling, in the music of their leaves, inhaling their perfume with intense delight."
Keller wrote this in 1934 to Tilly Aston, an Australian poet, writer and teacher who was blind, and who like Keller, had a great love of nature. Over the years Keller corresponded with Aston, acknowledging "the bond between us in our love of the eucalyptus."
Aston shared with Keller an extraordinary ability to describe the sensory pleasures of the natural world.
Tilly Aston was born in 1873 and by the age of seven she had lost all her vision. In 1894, Aston founded the Victorian Association of Braille Writers, and a year later established the Association for the Advancement of the Blind. She was a prolific writer. She wrote vivid descriptions of the Australian bush surrounding her beloved gold-town of Carisbrook. Aston recalled delicious fragrances and tactile sensations of her mother's garden in her poetry and later, described her joy-filled impressions of nature, when she travelled further afield through the Australian landscape.
It is hardly surprising that Aston and Keller enjoyed a warm correspondence. Tilly sent Helen a copy of her book of poems entitled "Singable Songs." Helen was delighted and replied with cordial appreciation, "I trust you will accept my grateful thanks for the joy you have given me. It is a joy like the exquisite fragrance of the petal shower falling upon the child's hair in your poem. I cannot realise that darkness encompasses you about as a nest when your songs sparkle through my fingers in dots of light!"
In The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, nature is fascinating, comforting and terrifying for Helen. When she is very young, Helen finds that the garden brings her relief from her frustrations; it is "the paradise of my childhood" (chapter 1). She recognizes sections of the garden by the smells and also the texture of the leaves and she is particularly in awe of the roses. The garden is her refuge because she can rely on her other senses (not sight and hearing) and, even if only momentarily, she is not restricted by her disabilities.
In chapter 5, after Annie Sullivan arrives and begins teaching Helen, she encourages Helen's love of the outdoors and helps her make the connection between her world and the world around her by making Helen feel that "birds and flowers and I were happy peers." Helen even remembers that her first lessons with Annie are "in the beneficence of nature." Helen notes that Annie does not concentrate on academic subjects at first but rather on "beauty in the fragrant woods, in every blade of grass, and in the curves and dimples of my baby sister's hand." However, Helen also learns about the unpredictability of nature and remembers how whilst climbing a tree "a nameless fear clutched at my heart." However, she sees it as another learning opportunity, and although she takes a long time to get over her fear, she does do so and feels "like a fairy on a rosy cloud."
Helen's education revolves around nature and she recognizes that "everything that could hum, or buzz, or sing, or bloom had a part" (chapter 6). Annie uses clay to teach Helen Geography and people send her collectibles which allow Helen to make associations and "learn from life itself." Helen recognizes that this love of nature stems from Annie's "genius" and continues to relish it. When out in the snow, she even suggests that the light is so bright that "it penetrated the darkness that veils my eyes" (ch 12). She finds the wind "exhilarating" while tobogganing and never misses an opportunity. She is inspired by her surroundings and this contributes to her positive frame of mind.