The growing season is an exercise in controlled chaos. There is too much to do and so much to learn, and decisions must be made about where to put effort when it’s all happening everywhere at once.
There is an exuberance in growth, both in plant and animal life and in the mind. Overwhelmed by observations, mental notes are lost in the cracks of our memory upon the next observation. Photos replace written notes, containing a thousand words in each.
One thousand more words that may never be tended to as the original “note” intended…
Impressions of the thriving land community remain, though. Life hums all around and underfoot.
The land changes in unexpected ways. We want to feel like we’re moving forward in our stewardship work, achieving linear, sequential progression toward a future ideal. But life and land management are a game of learning to live with the cycles, regressions, pulses of resources and activity, and the quiet dissolution of a stagnated effort years on down the trail.
Two steps forward, one step back. The land as an organism has no interest in straight lines.
Still, we are moving forward with our work, bringing rays of opportunity where only shade and bare ground lie.
Forward-thinking to vibrant landscapes, long lake views, and a community that values and cultivates the wild nature in us all.
By: Adam Gundlach, Lakeshore Nature Preserve Field Projects Coordinator
This reflection was originally published in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve September 2025 Newsletter. You can read the full issue and learn more about the Preserve’s work here. Hero image: Gundlach (right) directs Natural Area Assistants in determining shrub cover.