It's 7:36 AM. Everyone still asleep. A day off from delivering mail. In here the fire burns bright and hot.
Out there there's a frozen crust of sleet/snow mix covering everything. I stepped out at 5 AM. and was able to walk on top of it. The indoor/outdoor thermometer reads 32 degrees.
The other day Hayden and I heard a woodcock calling in the evening. It was just before dark. I was listening to A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold earlier in the day on the mail route. He wrote beautifully about the courting rituals of the woodcock.
I had to shut the book off when he wrote about the "Good Oak" though. At that moment it was too much to be reminded of how destructive we have been to the nonhuman world. I eventually turned it back on and finished a few more chapters.
This is rare for me. I have been reading about this culture's destructiveness for decades and have been able to stomach it. Something about this time though...
The next day on the mail route, I pulled over and did a google search. I get out on the route, get settled in, get in a zone, and my mind starts to wander.
With the possibility of time off in the future looking more certain I started thinking about traveling. The first thing that came to mind was the Schulenberg Prairie. I hear Roy Diblik, a master grower/gardner from southern Wisconsin talk about it a lot in his videos. So I was curious.
The first thing I learned was this: "One of the nation’s oldest and most successful prairie and savanna restorations is a thriving habitat and a place of beauty."
That's all I needed to know. 30 seconds later I was back on the route delivering mail. A place I want to visit in the future for sure.
That's all I got to say right now. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday.
Fire 178
3.30.25
