When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things
While these warmer spring temperatures are appreciated by everyone, myself included, the extreme temperature swing from a horrifically cold winter to an unseasonably warm (and snowless) March are undeniable effects of global climate change. Every spring hike this season will no doubt be tinged by this undercurrent of fear at the future state of the environment.
Read MoreLocated in St. Peter, about a twenty minute drive from Mankato, MN, is Gustavus Adolphus College, home to the Linnaeus Arboretum. This botanical wonderland was founded in 1973 by a botany professor at the college, Charles Mason, and his wife, Harriet Mason. The area is unique in that it incorporates all three of the major ecosystems in Minnesota: tall grass prairie, deciduous woods, and coniferous forest, allowing you to observe a wide variety of flora and fauna. With 130 acres, the arboretum gives plenty of room for you to wander, bring a picnic, or read on a bench surrounded by cascading blooms.
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