Hellobee

This post has been in my drafts for a long time. But there are so many wonderful nature documentaries on Netflix, and I still find watching them both relaxing and cathartic, a great form of escapism from my chronically ill life, so I decided to finally finish this post up and share it (and I finished it while I had a moment to watch one in the background, naturally!).

As most moms know, it’s rare for moms to get their own TV time. But I’ve encountered a bunch of seasonal sicknesses this year, as well as some rough flare ups of my chronic conditions, which has meant a lot of extra time in bed recovering.

It is very peaceful to watch a lemur slowly walk across snow. Most of these are series I’m jumping around from and working through, though one is a movie. And the great news is, once I make my way through these picks, all which I highly recommend, there are many more on Netflix to explore (and several on Hulu as well).

BBC Earth Wild Alaska:

Most of the documentary series I’m working my way through are by BBC Earth, and they are incredibly well-done. Alaska is on the top of my bucket list of places I want to go someday, but for now, I have this documentary, which is absolutely stunning. It is 3 episodes long, detailing 3 diverse seasons in Alaska: spring, summer, and winter. I learned that there are sea otters in Alaska, and about frost flowers. It is full of absolutely stunning scenery shots. I’ve never seen snow so beautiful.

BBC Earth Hidden Kingdoms:

This show is about the tiniest animals and their fight for survival in a big world. In the first episode, you follow several creatures, including the fascinating and slightly terrifying grasshopper mouse, and it follows this same format for the three episodes of the series. I love the close-up photography and how it makes scenes like a tiny rodent running from a moose after the same nuts, as it so exciting. I also really loved the music in this one. All of these documentaries have great scores: it’s like watching a well-orchestrated dramatic movie, only set to nature.

BBC Earth Planet Earth and Planet Earth II:

This 2006 series is one of the broadest. While many of the documentaries deal with a specific animal or region, or at least some specific geography like oceans or mountains, this series deals with all of planet Earth’s wonders, all with a soaring score and gripping narration. You’ll “travel” from pole to pole in the first episode; then to caves, deserts, seasonal forests, and much more. My favorite episode was Episode 9, “The Shallow Seas,” which featured Indonesian coral reefs. The 2016 follow up, Planet Earth II, gives a new look at many of the same types of locales, but all-new actual destinations and creatures. I loved watching the river dolphins in the Jungles episode.

BBC Earth Blue Planet and Blue Planet II:

2001’s The Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceans is what originally got me into nature documentaries. It is so breathtakingly gorgeous, and the narration by David Attenborough (who narrates many of the documentaries on this list) is so soothing. I find myself both transfixed and also learning a lot. I absolutely love water and the ocean, which is probably why this one has always been my favorite. And the filmography still really holds up even being 18 years old! The 2017 follow up is even better than the first.

Other documentaries on Netflix I’m hopping between and enjoy are BBC Earth’s Shark and Madagascar, and National Geographic’s One Strange Rock, narrated by Will Smith.

And the one on Hulu I’m working my way through and really enjoy is National Geographic’s America’s National Parks:

National parks are another place I’d love to visit, but for the most part I am limited from because of my body’s limits. Some might happen someday, but for now, it’s great to be able to experience them from the comfort of my bed.

The first episode, on Olympic National Park in Washington, features both the sea and river otters that live in the parks, which are my favorite animals. I loved watching one catch a salmon. I also saw a sea star hunting, something I had never even thought of before.

Other than being soothing and providing escapism, I like nature documentaries as a mom for a number of other reasons. They’re something that I can watch with Snowy around, whether she’s watching them with me (which she does do sometimes) or she’s doing something else while they’re on. They are totally appropriate and I don’t have to worry about her seeing or hearing something troublesome. Plus we both love learning new things, and they provide me with new interesting facts I can pass on to her.

And since it’s not a big deal for me to follow the plots closely like with a serialized drama, they’re perfect for me to have on when I’m doing something else, like writing, and want something in the background, or when I know I’m going to be constantly interrupted (which is pretty much all the time with Snowy!).

As a side note: I don’t get to watch these nearly as much as I’d like. I don’t watch a ton of “grown up” tv, even when I’m confined to bed: thus why this post has taken so long!

Does anyone else enjoy watching animal and nature documentaries, or is it just me? When you’re sick, or if you’re chronically ill, what are your favorite things to watch while resting?