| As Balzac famously said of cities,
"to walk is to vegetate, to stroll is to live." For David Brendan
Hopes,
day hikes provide the perfect occasion for both refuge and
contemplation.
Encounters with wild animals, rare plants, or simply the perfect moment
of weather and view are opportunities to reflect on the sublime
synchronicity
of human and natural life. The ferns of early spring transport him
through
time, to wonder whether dinosaurs had song. The emergence of cicadas
calls
to mind men and women "gorgeous in impractical ways." A glorious
display
- one of "exuberant defiance" - of late fall roses suggests that plants
might have moods. Touching on themes as diverse as hunting, deep
ecology,
wicca, and sci-fi literature, Hopes' hikes and thoughts are part of a
sifting
of experience that unites the everyday world with a larger personal and
eternal story. |
Bird Songs of the
Mesozoic
A Day Hiker's Guide
to the Nearby Wild
by David Brendan Hopes
Milkweed Editions,
2005.
Order
a copy.
|
