My wife and I took the day off yesterday and went up to Aldo Leopold's Shack which is only a short distance
from our place. I've read Sand County Almanac, but really didn't know much about the man or his family.
It turns out that his wife Estella was the sawyer for the family. When they settled on their weekend getaway,
lowlands next to the Wisconsin River, the land was was all used up from farming. The Leopold family focused
on planting pine to bring back the land back. The new Leopold Center was recently built from that wood on the
property, including from pines that Leopold planted.
Leopold's family planted thousands of pines on the abandoned farm. One of Aldo's quotes is ""Acts of creation
are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets. To plant a pine, one need only own a shovel."
Aldo's shack is a converted chicken shed and full of poop when the family arrived in the dead
of the winter back in the 30's. The Leopold family added a bunkhouse. His son built an outhouse which he
named the Parthenon. The unassuming buildings still stand. The shack is locked up in the winter, so we
didn't get to see inside. The pines in the area are quite mature now. There were a bunch of trees downed
this winter, and I couldn't help but wonder if they would let me in with my trailer to help clean things up,.
My own land is closer, so that was a foolish thought.
Besides planting and cutting down trees, Estella was excellent with a bow and arrow, winning the state archery
championship.
from our place. I've read Sand County Almanac, but really didn't know much about the man or his family.
It turns out that his wife Estella was the sawyer for the family. When they settled on their weekend getaway,
lowlands next to the Wisconsin River, the land was was all used up from farming. The Leopold family focused
on planting pine to bring back the land back. The new Leopold Center was recently built from that wood on the
property, including from pines that Leopold planted.
Leopold's family planted thousands of pines on the abandoned farm. One of Aldo's quotes is ""Acts of creation
are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets. To plant a pine, one need only own a shovel."
Aldo's shack is a converted chicken shed and full of poop when the family arrived in the dead
of the winter back in the 30's. The Leopold family added a bunkhouse. His son built an outhouse which he
named the Parthenon. The unassuming buildings still stand. The shack is locked up in the winter, so we
didn't get to see inside. The pines in the area are quite mature now. There were a bunch of trees downed
this winter, and I couldn't help but wonder if they would let me in with my trailer to help clean things up,.
My own land is closer, so that was a foolish thought.
Besides planting and cutting down trees, Estella was excellent with a bow and arrow, winning the state archery
championship.
