Nature Journal 5: Trinity Walk and Lessons from Leopold

I went for a one hour walk along the Trinity River with my friend yesterday. It was sunny, 80°F, cloudless, and breezy. Although there was minimal shade on our route, the overall conditions were delightful. I noticed various forms of flora and fauna as well as their interactions with each other. I identified a few eastern bluebirds perched among tree branches, two egrets wading in the river, an eastern fox squirrel climbing a tree trunk, and multiple ducks swimming in the water. A highlight of my excursion was observing one monarch butterfly, multiple yellow butterflies, and a few white butterflies fluttering through patches of invasive rapistrum rugosum which are annual yellow flowering herbs of the mustard family. The water’s surface glistened from the afternoon sun, highlighting the simplistic yet astounding beauty of nature. Although not apparent from the angle of my picture, the reflection of trees onto the water allowed me to perfectly visualize their shapes and characteristics. 

Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac excerpt sums up our class brilliantly. He shared similar viewpoints and ideals with Abbey, Thoreau, and other environmental activists. As I observed the egrets lounging in the river, it reminded me of Leopold’s emphasis on migratory sandhill cranes and their representation of time and wilderness. He highlighted that humans have disrupted the natural order, turning wilderness into destroyed or managed landscapes with “no wilderness left to cherish” (405). This has been a common theme throughout our class discussions, and I wholeheartedly agree that nature is becoming increasingly loved to death as the total volume of it dwindles away. I appreciate his solution to conservation problems as a mindset alteration toward land ethic over self-interest and profit. The idea of humans shifting “from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen” stresses the importance of all beings on Earth acting as players on a co-existing biotic team (408). I believe we are all part of a grander painting in which our role in nature affects the entire canvas of ecosystems, reaffirming our position to be part of the scene rather than the artist with a destructive paint brush.