September 3, 2026
Summer is passing fast and furiously. September has arrived. Somehow, this month seems to bring many changes and “re-sets”. Students are back in school and in the northern latitudes, wildlife is starting to prepare for a long winter. We start recognizing it is time to finish summer projects as we lose the long daylight hours. Nights are getting colder. People start to reflect on the past year.
I’ve had the extremely good fortune to get out into the Wilds of Yellowstone and into some of the other parts of this ecosystem. The above photo is from a backpacking trip into Upper Slough Creek in Yellowstone. It was a smokey period that week with western wildfires at their peak. Much of our week was hot and smokey, but it was still extraordinary. We saw many many Bison, as it was still the time of their rut, and heard Sandhill Cranes every day. Below are some more photos from that week.
In an earlier newsletter, I shared this short video with Wendell Berry reciting his poem,
Peace in Wild Things. I will reprint the verses at the end of the note.
Recent news brings us reminders of human mortality. Reading about Wendell Berry’s long life ending, I found myself thinking of so many of his writings and poems.
I have always loved “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front”. It feels relevant right now. One of the last lines he says “practice resurrection”. My interpretation of this is his encouragement to “keep on keeping on”. He says “Have no fear. Ask the questions that have no answers. Plant sequoias. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts” . |
Many of our heroes, like Wendell Berry, will pass before we do and we grieve. It is also a time to remember the number of ways they brought richness, beauty, and wisdom to this world. They helped us become better people and we celebrate all of that at the same time. Wendell Berry’s passing, along with Dolly Parton, reminds me of what gifts their lives have been and what joy they brought to so many.
Kid for the Wild Scholarship
This is the time of year Kid for the Wild Scholarship recipients share their summer experiences. You will see some notes and photos from this summer’s recipients. Information about upcoming scholarship possibilities are also found on this page, so check it out. Pass the info along to any “Kids” or families as well.
OK, one more experience in “Wilderness”. In this case, I’m sharing some images from a Road Scholar program I’ve been leading the last few years in the Absaroka/Beartooth wilderness. It is famous for having the largest contiguous area of high-elevation alpine tundra and unbroken land over 10,000 feet outside of Alaska and it is one of the 5 largest wilderness areas in the lower 48 states ( the ABWA is about 930,000 acres of protected wilderness!)
In the United States, the Wilderness Act of 1964 legally defines wilderness as an area “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain”. Some wilderness areas do have historic buildings like this fire lookout tower below.
The last group with whom I traveled and hiked in this area, we had an opportunity to visit this fire lookout. It was staffed by a volunteer as many of these positions are no longer supported with pay. He invited us into the upper level of the lookout and described his day to day activities and what a lookout’s role is when observing and reporting fire starts. These lookouts know an area intimately and can identify landmarks 100+ miles away. Much of this is becoming obsolete with overflights and satellites, but it is still very important to have people out in the field. For more information on Fire Lookouts, take a look at this link. https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/newsroom/stories/standing-watch-ongoing-tradition-fire-lookouts
I forget it this is Mutt or Jeff Lake!
Thanks to all of you who value these parts and places in our world. Thanks for reading this Nature News from Greater Yellowstone and supporting the “Kid for the Wild” scholarship opportunities.
Leslie lesliehstoltz@gmail.com
Peace of Wild Things Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.