Week 3: Pre-Post

January through July

In the Sand County Almanac, the photographs spoke volumes to me. In this post, I want to explore a reflection on some of my favorites from January to July.

On page 32, Leopold displays a beyond stunning picture of stars as they move across the sky over the course of a night. From my photography experience, this is a technically unbelievable shot. The sharpness of the tree and grasses in contrast to the star trails is insane. A photographer can only dream of the conditions that produced that shot.

On page 44, The shot of Canada geese on the Great Marsh, makes me want, dream, that I am in a boat in their midst. A small wooden row boat ( ok, so maybe I have seen The Notebook a few too many times) and just floating in the middle of this gander. If it started to rain, a few dark clouds crossing what seems to be a bright sky, I wouldn't mind.

The rogue symmetry of the Bur Oak on page 58 caught my attention. The prose that accompanied it was just as breathtaking. "When school children vote on a state bird, flower, or tree, they are not making a decision; they are merely ratifying history. Thus history made the Bur Oak the tree of southern Wisconsin when prairie grasses first gained possession of the region. Bur oak is the only tree that can stand up to a prairie fire and live."

Page 70, holds the image of something I greatly covet: a well worn, name-carved-in, cork-handled old school fishing pole. I WANT ONE. anyways. It is completely wonderful and then to accompany it with one of the many tales that the fishing pole has seen. Page 79 shows binoculars as well as notebooks and a pipe. I think of Leopold as the typical old, british guy. Regardless of his nationality, lol, I find respect for an owner of such well used and well-loved items. All with his name on them, the ownership, I find beautiful.