Like All Things New

Like all things new, I'll probably be making daily use of this blog for a while. In fact, you may see several posts in a single day, then thankfully, the posts will taper off to a reasonable number of updates before they eventually subside to occasional ramblings. Knowing the progression this blog is likely to take provides a sense of relief for both reader and writer--no long-term commitment required.

Rain has come at last! It started yesterday afternoon and lasted throughout the night--a calm, steady rain, with no wind to anger it. Lightning and thunder are in the distance, making the porch a perfect place to read in the predawn hours. The garden is soaking up as much of the water as possible while I try to soak up the words of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac. The cost of this book is written on the inside cover: 25 cents. I didn't pay that for the book. It's a loaner from my friend, Jim, who bought it at the library book sale.

As I read the words, I am struck by the incredible beauty of Leopold's writing. The book was first published in 1949, just long enough ago to intrigue today's reader with a style and language that reads more like poetry than prose. Reviewer quotes on the back cover of the book include comments like these:

"We can place this book on the shelf that holds the writings of Thoreau and John Muir." San Franciso Chronicle

"The late Aldo Leopold...was both a better writer and a better naturalist than Thoreau." Sterling North

When I read books by writers like Leopold, I take my time. I savor the words and descriptions, the imagery that is so precise and unique. It is not a book to be hurried. Slow and steady, just like today's rain. The lettuces in my garden and I on my porch are spending the day soaking up things we need.