Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to doing something that I want to do. In the spring of 1970, after 3-1/2 years of chemistry, physics, and math, I had some college credits remaining to use for electives. I took a class called “Contemporary Trends” in which I was introduced to Paul Ehrlich’s Population Bomb, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac. The first two books made an impression on me because of their foreboding. The last one made an impression on me because of its eloquence. I wanted to visit the land about which Aldo Leopold wrote. I finally made it there on Saturday.
My opportunity to see this land came in the form of a field trip sponsored by The Center for Photography at Madison and led by Center President Bill Pielsticker. The goal of the outing was to photograph Sand Hill Cranes along the Wisconsin River. It was, however, much more than that. We met at the The Leopold Center, part of the The Aldo Leopold Foundation, a not-for-profit conservation organization established in 1982 by Aldo and Estella Leopold’s five children. After touring the beautiful facilities at the Leopold Center, we drove down the road to the Shack, the re-built chicken coop where the Leopold family stayed on their weekends away from Madison. This is the land that was laid waste by the dust bowl and which the Leopold family slowly nursed back to life. This is the land that gave birth to the conservation ethic that Leopold describes so passionately in his book.
Late in the afternoon we made our way to a blind along the Wisconsin River and waited for the Sandhill Cranes to arrive. They’d spent the day foraging for food, probably in the recently-harvested local cornfields. Seagulls entertained us for a while. Later, two Bald Eagles flew past and perched in a dead tree. Eventually we heard the call of the cranes, which the International Crane Foundation describes as: “Loud, rattling kar-r-r-o-o-o. With multiple variations.” That description really doesn’t do it justice so, if you’re curious, click on the mp3 player below.
I couldn’t begin to describe the land like Aldo Leopold did. He lived it and he loved it; I was just a visitor. So, if you haven’t already done so, please read the book. What I can do, however, is leave a few photographs to show some of what our group of photographers saw on Saturday. Since my telephoto lens is only a 200 mm, my bird pics take a broader view, but I had a good time regardless. I suspect that a good time was had by all.