Being conscious of nature
"There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot."
Chris Adkins read the first words of Aldo Leopold's classic "A Sand County Almanac" in college 30 years ago and realized he cannot.
Like Leopold, Adkins is an Iowan who stands in the woods a lot, looking. By sheer coincidence, it's a rare January thaw, also the title of the book's first essay capturing the sound of melting snow and sight of animal tracks.
Dana