{"id":4578,"date":"2025-04-19T15:43:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T19:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/spire\/?p=4578"},"modified":"2025-04-22T01:40:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T05:40:48","slug":"lagasse-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/spire\/2025\/04\/19\/lagasse-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Naturalists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Tom Lagasse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In memory of Edwin and Nellie Way Teale<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edwin Way Teale was an American naturalist, photographer, and writer. Teale\u2019s works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930\u20131980.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pond is like a country
as are the woods, the meadows,

And bogs.  All with leaky borders.
The snags are towns in decay

As are the oaks and bee balm.
Its citizenry is diverse \u2013

Raccoons, rabbits and deer,
Cardinals and blue jays, ants

And moths, green frogs and snakes.
Through locales large and small,

The naturalists\u2019 fluency is
in the language of witnessing

the dangerous and wonderful \u2013
the hawk\u2019s curved beak, a frog\u2019s

snap of a tongue, or the spider\u2019s
intricate silken geometry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

II<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the casual eye sees
the pristine meadow and pond,

They see the muck of life,
layer upon knee deep layer,

Which would make most squeamish.
They sit still, as though meditating

Or taking a census, counting angels
on the head of a pin. They jot notes

And call things by their names –
glow-worms and pond skaters,

Walking sticks and katydids,
milkweed and thistle.

They give pause to recognize
this ephemeral life as well

As the boneyard beneath
their feet in the decaying

Leaf and grass, wing,
bone, feather and fur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

III<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With most of the world
consumed by its mad dash

For cash, its nine to five plus,
the naturalists honor the other –

The different life cycles turning
like clock gears in this digital world.

Akin to Zen monks who are aware
that all life overflows with suffering,

They record their observations and
contemplations, and transform them

Into narratives which now patiently sit
on the shelves. Waiting to be read,

Their timeless, loving voices offer
a cold compress for this heating planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tom Lagasse \u00a0 In memory of Edwin and Nellie Way Teale Edwin Way Teale was an American naturalist, photographer, and writer. Teale\u2019s works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930\u20131980. \u00a0 I The pond is like a countryas are the woods, the meadows, And bogs.  All with leaky […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2556,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spire-2025-issue"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Naturalists - The Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability - 91爆料<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/spire\/2025\/04\/19\/lagasse-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Naturalists - The Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability - 91爆料\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Tom Lagasse \u00a0 In memory of Edwin and Nellie Way Teale Edwin Way Teale was an American naturalist, photographer, and writer. 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