Summary Of A Sand County Almanac

A Sand County Almanac has many themes. One theme that stood out was the relationship between history and nature and its possible future. This theme was prevalent in the essay “Good Oak”. In this essay Leopold saw the Oak tree as a historian. Within the rings of the tree lies the history of the world. Leopold states, “By its fall the tree attests the unity of the hodge-podge called history” (18). In part one and two of A Sand County Almanac history is implied throughout the essays. In part one the essay “Prairie Birthday” Leopold writes of the many wild flowers that grow every year. He says, “No man can heed all these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them” (47). These plants have a history with this land. They come back every year bringing memories of the past.

The compass plant has a history that may never be seen again. In the essay “Good Oak” the oak trees history and future are a little brighter than the dwindling compass plant. Leopold states about the Oaks, “They will come back to me again, perhaps as red apples, or perhaps as a spirit of enterprise in some fat October squirrel, who, for reasons unknown to himself, is bent of planting acorns” (19). In part two the connection of history and nature is less abundant than in part one, but it still makes a link between the past and nature. In the first part of the essay “On Top” Leopold writes about the history of an Arizona town before the explosion of transportation. Leopold says, “Today the plane has given even the sky to Tom, Dick, and Harry” (131). This essay shows a history of a simpler time. In part two the essay links the mountain man to the past in contrast to part one which connects trees, compass plants, and nature to the past instead of