"Time to see who has done what but speculate why"

Pt. 1 A Sandy County Almanac Notes

Quick Forward: Aldo Leopold was the first well recognized voice of conservation and “wild life ecology” in the United States. His way of perceiving land as an intricate living community can be derived from his childhood on the Iowa plains, his academic and professional background in forestry and genuine love of science. He was appointed the Department of Game Management at the University of Wisconsin in 1933. His farm in Central Wisconsin is the setting for A Sandy County Almanac which was published posthumously in 1949.
Sources: http://www.naturenet.com/alnc/aldo.html, http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/other/aldoonag.htm


This first part of Leopold’s book spans a chronological year on the family farm in Wisconsin, where he sought to seek out the “meat from God” (Foreword). Starting at the first of the year, he paints a detailed picture of the landscape and animals with his careful naturalist observations. In February, he delves into the history of a dead oak tree,where his ecological and historical knowledge shine in his story telling. He compares the tree’s history with that of mankind and it becomes quite apparent who is most resilient.

The spring months consist of beautifully written field notes, mainly focusing on the birds on Leopold’s land. Noting the geese’s annual pattern Leopold waxes a bit of poetic in March, “In this annual barter of food and light and winter warmth for summer solitude, the whole continent receives as net profit a wild poem dropped from the murky skies of March” (Leopold 25). Compared to Walden, there is a recognizable light heartedness and wit in Leopold’s writings and can be identified in the beginning of the April chapter. He revels in the wildlife’s response to the spring flood, and enjoys the solitude when he cannot cross the water into town. He is a humble scientist as he observes the mating dance of the woodcock and comments that , “No matter how intently one studies the hundred little dramas of the woods and meadows, one can never learn all of the salient facts about any one of them” (Leopold 35).

Throughout this section, perspective is an important theme. Human perspective compared to that of an animal is often seen as trivial. The migration of the plover to the daily journey of home to work to school, seems quite insignificant.

In June, Leopold fishes at Alder Ford and I found similarities between his experience and Thoreau fishing on Walden. The act of fishing seems deeply reflective and mediative to both, but Leopold maintains more of narrative in his description. The most pertinent section within July is Prairie Birthday, as he greets the arrival of the hardy prairie flowers in the height of the their bloom. However, he calls to attention the serious decline of many native species and the direct correlation to “mechanized man”. He calls the reader to examine the question whether, “we cannot have both progress and plants” (Leopold 51).

“Providence withheld a sense of history from the thousand of species of plants and animals that have exterminated each other to build of present” (Leopold 54) --very pertinent to me as I spent the month of July conducting an invasive species survey of the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Leopold paints the most lovely river pictures in August, and looks forward to the ever changing patterns of the water. As fall arrives, the tone of the book becomes more contemplative. I n the very early morning hours Leopold sits in the marsh and listens, delighting in what he could hear and not see. In October, he hunts with his bird dog and compared to my knowledge of conventional hunting, it seems a languid and solitary practice.

Leopold seems to welcome the winter, and uses the snow to track the home ranges of deer and grouse. “ I am curious about this, for it gives me the ratio between the size of their universe and the size of mines...who is the more thoroughly acquainted with the world in which he lives” (Leopold 83). I think we all know the answer to his question.
Leopold was a holistic naturalist and explorer with a very keen eye and like Thoreau was very in tune with the natural rhythms of their surroundings.

Heading to Isle Royale for some observations of my own, will post more upon my return