A Sand County Almanac, published after Leopold died, captures thoughts from his journals and reflections on wilderness and the land ethic. It begins with "There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot."
Spanning many years and many places, the language sometimes seems quaint and the fish hooks and shot guns excessive - at least until you remember that these are writings from years ago. And then he catches you with a phrase that might have been written yesterday.
Enjoy these readings, and please add your comments.
Good Oak - February, from A Sand County Almanac
There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast come from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.To avoid the first danger, one should plant a garden, preferable where there is no grocer to confuse the issue.To avoid the second, he should lay a split of good oak on the andirons, preferably where there is no furnace, and let it warm his shins while a February blizzard tosses the trees outside. If one has cut, split, hauled, and piled his own good oak, and let his mind work the while, he will remember much about where the heat comes from, and with a wealth of detail denied to those who spend the week end in town astride a radiator.
~~~~~
Protecting the wildlands of the mountain headwaters of the Arkansas and South Platte rivers
4 comments:
Does this sound like the last few days?
If we cut oak now for firewood we are using a precious resource. So we are left with solar or wind to heat our homes environmentally; unfortunately neither or which take us outside to appreciate the source of our warmth, the land. So we should ask the question, have we moved into a post-Leopold world.
Pikes Peak Sierra Club is hosting a Leopold discussion on Feb 14th, 7:00, Colorado Springs City Hall at Nevada and Kiowa. Tod's question will surely get asked. There certainly is a difference in outlook between Leopold's earlier writings and his later essays. It was hard for me to get through the hunting and fishing trips of the 20's and 30's in "Round River." More does, bucks, grouse, turkeys, squirrels and rabbits were shot for camp food than you can imagine. But then a cow gets killed now and then for my hamburger, so who'e to say.
Tod's point is good, and we must foster development of alternative energy in this growing world.
But to quote George Norlin, professor and President of CU, "Who Knows Only His Own Generation Remains Always a Child." There were days when I could camp anywhere in the backcountry without consideration to place or permit, or numbers.
I have warmed legs and hands...and heart...at a fire. Now, in many places, you are told to warm yourself over the small propane stove.
The warmth and crackling and dancing of a fire are important ties to what the natural world can give us. Done with education and care the trees will flourish in spite of use. Futture generations need to know ties to the past.
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