Wisdom from Aldo Leopold on man, wildlife and land.

photos by Jonathan Schechter
Buck in my meadow, summer of 2011

Leopold has been an inspirational writer/conservationist/scientist for me ever since I discovered his writings and explored his thoughts when living in Vermont and atttending  Goddard College with the Green Mountain National Forest my back yard. Today his Sand County Almanac leans on my bookshelf next to the works of Muir and Thoreau and has the added punch of timeless words that  salute things and places natural, wild and free.  Yesterday a gray fox trotting in my nearly leafless woods at dawn and the hooting of an owl near the house brought his words to mind. I finally found the quote I was searching for. Today a flock of turkeys trotting the meadow and a doe on the run told me it's time to post a blog for "my" wild things that are well acquainted with their woods that I share.

"The wild things that live on my farm are reluctant to tell me, in so many words, how much of my
township is included within their daily or nightly beat. I am curious about this, for it gives
me the ratio between the size of their universe and the size of mine, and it conveniently begs
the much more important question, who is more thoroughly acquainted with the world in
which he lives?"        
Aldo Leopold - A Sand County Almanac

                                   Twin fawns in early summer at the edge zone between my lawn and wild meadow.