26 February 2012

two naturalists


Jim Conrad introduces us to Mosses as part of the Back Yard Nature Field Guide website maintained by Conrad. A basic primer on bryophytes, with links to more extensive specialized search sites.
     Jim grew up on a small tobacco farm in western Kentucky, in the southeastern USA. After college he served as a naturalist in a Kentucky state park, then for three years worked at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. While there he collected plants for taxonomic research in several Latin American countries. He currently lives in the Yucatan peninsula in a hut, and in keeping with indigenous housing traditions.
     A soft-spoken naturalist, he nevertheless lives in the tradition of Edward Abbey [more about him down the column]. He has a keep sense of what's important and sometimes shares his opinions at Thoughts about Nature

Edward Abbey ["Cactus Ed"] 1927-1989 | QUOTE: "The most common form of terrorism in the U.S.A. is that carried on by bulldozers and chain saws."
     American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. His best-known works include the novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, which has been cited as an inspiration by radical environmental groups, and the non-fiction work Desert Solitaire.
     Desert Solitaire is regarded as one of the finest nature narratives in American literature, and has been compared to Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and Thoreau's Walden.

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