“The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, but He is no longer the only one to do so. When some remote ancestor of ours invented the shovel, he became a giver: he could plant a tree. And when the axe was invented, he became a taker: he could chop it down.” (Pg. 67)
Aldo Leopold is right; we have become a nation of greedy takers. We are robbing the earth for its land, minerals, timber, oils, and other natural resources. In the processes of taking these things from the earth we have threatened numerous plant and animal species often causing endangerment or even extinction. We are taking enormous amounts more from Mother Earth than she is able to supply us with. If we continue to be greedy takers and strip the earth of its natural resources, we will harm Mother Earth beyond repair.
As I hiked through White Clay Creek State Park this week I came across three deer. The first two deer saw me before I saw them and they darted across the path and up the hill. They stopped at the top of the hill and just stood there for a while watching me watch them. I looked to the bottom of the hill and saw another deer that was much smaller than the other two. The deer at the top of the hill were probably waiting for the baby. I continued on my hike not wanting to startle them anymore than I already had.
When I reached the little bench by the dam I set my backpack down and walked out onto the rocks. The cold water rushed around me bringing with it a chilling wind. The yellow, orange, and red leaves that had fallen into the creek zoomed past me in the current. It reminds me of the way I floated in the lazy river at Water Country as a kid. This thought made me imagine little insects riding on these leaves as they flow down the creek, enjoying their version of an amusement park ride.
On my way home from the White Clay Creek I decided to stop at Lowes and get some flower seeds. I do my best not to be a taker, but why not also do my best to be a giver. I germinated two seeds in a plastic baggie in my window and then planted them in their own pots. They are sitting on my windowsill where they can get plenty of sun. Two days after being planted the sprouts popped up above the surface of the soil. It has been four days since I planted the seeds and everyday that I wake up the first thing I do is water my plants and observe how quickly they are growing. It feels as though these plants are my children, and watching them grow is an extremely mind blowing and fun experience.
“Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets, but humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a pine, for example, one need be neither god nor poet; one need only own a shovel.” (Pg. 81)
This quote from A Sand County Almanac is partially what inspired me to want to grow flowers. I am certainly no god or poet, so I guess that makes me one of the humbler folks. The hard part now is that I have to continue to be humble and keep these plants alive.