Jefferies/Wright

"Out of Doors In February" made me think this heat had disappeared, but then I stepped outside. It's a hot one for sure. At first I thought Jefferies was similar to Leopold, but after reading "Absence of Design in Nature" I felt otherwise. Leopold was born the year after Jefferies died. Jefferies ideas could not be more different than Leopold's. I believe Jefferies "Absence" reflected some of the general scientific thought of the time. It's almost comical to think about form without function. Whenever I read a piece like this I often wonder what people in the future will say about our current line of thinking. I can here them now? Will they have a similar "inevitable conclusion that there is no object, no end, no design, and no plan; no anything that is." It could be argued that Jefferies was referring to a Divine plan, but I think he means otherwise. It's as if he sees nature as nature. A random occurrence of interactions. Suprisingly, this was possible written near Darwin's 1859 Origin of the Species. Could this be a response to Darwin's great work, or was it written before? We know that Darwin wasn't widely accepted at first. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the exact publication date of "Absence."

I've always loved the name Mabel. It was Hannah's grandmother's name, and will be the name of our first child if it's a girl, and if we ever have children. Mabel has a gift of describing the things we see, but do not see on a daily basis. She reminds us that a garden isn't just a garden. There is a microcosm of life in those beds. Mabel encourages us to sit outside and see. I now understand why the editors associate her with Michael Pollen. He too has the gift of writing about something familiar in a new way.