April 8, 2008
While reading Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, I came across a few pages that really interested me. In pages 4-6, Dillard talks about a special place she goes while she is at Tinker Creek. It is “a little island shaped like a tear (4).” This section interested me because I would love to have a little place to go and read, especially during the summer. As I sit here at my desk, freezing on this 50 degree day, I can’t help but long for a nice, sunny, warm place where I can read.
Pages 5 and 6 also really caught my attention. Here, Dillard talks about how she likes to scare frogs during the summer. Her imagery is amazing here—she writes so that I can see the entire scene playing out in my head. Frogs are my favorite animals, and I’ve even ordered a license plate that says “FROGGG” for my green beetle that also reminds me a little of a frog. But, I digress.
I realized that, though I think frogs are cute, I don’t actually know much about them, besides the fact that they eat by catching bugs with their extremely long tongues. I had no idea that they shed their skin, which I could’ve easily found out by paying more attention to nature. If I took time out of my busy life to actually enjoy the world, I would learn so much more than I would in school. Granted, this knowledge of nature and natural things wouldn’t help me make any money or get a good job, but I would have more knowledge about the world around me even if I only took two hours a week to spend in nature. I have a nature park literally three minutes from my house, where I could walk on the trails, and get a little exploring in. They even have a few lakes where I can observe animals there, and may even be able to observe a few frogs or turtles.
It’s funny to me that I used to be a “tomboy,” and used to play in the ditch, trying to catch tadpoles when I was younger, but now I cringe when the wind messes up my hair when I’m on my way to somewhere important. I used to catch ants and try to “feed” them in my backyard, and used to think bugs were “cool” just ten years ago. Now, I scream and get my boyfriend or little brother if there is a spider within five feet of me. I truly have become “nature illiterate” as Gary Snyder says in his book. I claim to like frogs, but I have no real knowledge of them, or many other animals. By going out into nature just a few hours a week, or even a month, I can become more comfortable with nature, and may even be able to at least tolerate bugs again. ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment