"Adventures with a Texas Naturalist" by Roy Bedichek

I'm proud and ashamed that I finally finished reading "Adventures with a Texas Naturalist" by Roy Bedichek. (I include "ashamed" because I read so seldom and slowly these days.) His descriptions of and thoughts about our local plants and animals were so enjoyable and satisfying, thanks partly to already being familiar with many of them. And his concerns about conservation and lack of human connection with nature are just as relevant now as they were in 1947 when the book was originally published.

I was most surprised how moved I was by his eloquent description of and thoughts about human connection with domestic animals. He considered this as vital as our connection to nature.

"When I was a boy living on a small acreage near a rural village, the safety bicycle was just appearing, but there no smooth roads, much less anything that resembled a pavement. I was brought, therefore, into daily contact with a sentient being as a means of transportation. It had moods, just as I had. It responded to caresses, and to scoldings or ill-treatment. This animal knew my voice and reflected its intonations by quick changes in behavior. In short, my pony was my pal."

Posted on 06 de março de 2016, 10:06 PM by mikaelb