Exploring the nature of a land ethic

Today is a packing and travel day. We're headed for country near Aldo Leopold's "The Shack." Returning Sunday.

"The Shack," a converted chicken coop

Photo by J. Harrington

We've noticed similarities between Leopold's country around The Shack and our own little piece of sand plain. They each bear a very slight resemblance to the scrub pine sand dune country of Cape Cod, one of our favorite parts of Massachusetts, where we grew up. That raises some themes we hope to explore here over the next several months. Meanwhile, if you haven't yet read Leopold's Land Ethic, and you hope to understand some of the basic problems our world is facing, you might want to start here.

The Shack in its natural environment

Photo by J. Harrington

Nature

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As a fond mother, when the day is o'er, 

   Leads by the hand her little child to bed, 

   Half willing, half reluctant to be led, 

   And leave his broken playthings on the floor, 

Still gazing at them through the open door, 

   Nor wholly reassured and comforted 

   By promises of others in their stead, 

   Which, though more splendid, may not please him more; 

So Nature deals with us, and takes away 

   Our playthings one by one, and by the hand 

   Leads us to rest so gently, that we go 

Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay, 

   Being too full of sleep to understand 

   How far the unknown transcends the what we know. 

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