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Natural Reflection

I spent many a fine weekend and summer day on a man-made lake by the name of Sleepy Hollow Lake. The lake was built around 1970 by a private developer who basically dug a giant trench with lots of corners and angles, put up a dam, and piped water in (as well as taking in water from a small feeder creek at the North end of the lake) to make a 2.5 mile long lake that had dozens of miles of lakefront property. The lake has been stocked with a nice array of fish and has sported some good sized bass. Lots of reptiles, amphibians and water fowl have made the lake their home. It’s nice.

But it’s man made! I have often struggled with the authenticity of it all. In any case, my thought on this weekend is how we think about “pollution” into this lake. Before it being a lake it pretty much was a barren wasteland, not even used for farming to the best of my knowledge. If farmers’ agricultural run-off makes its way into this lake, is that unnatural? There is no particularly difficult economic problem there, I just want to learn about how such “man-made nature” is viewed. And to take a step back, just how much of “nature” does not have the imprint of man on it? Ought we separate man from nature? Is it even possible?

3 Responses to “Natural Reflection”

  1. Michael says:

    I’ve got a few more examples. First, the wild horse population of the U.S. is “invasive,” but considered a national treasure. Second, the Osage Orange was once native to Missouri when mastadons “carried” the seeds of the plant in their migration. During the last ice age, the trees in Missouri were pushed south, and mastadons died completely. Now the Osage Orange is considered invasive because the Indians and farmers planted them (good wood for bows and fence posts). Seems rather arbitrary to me.

  2. chuck martel says:

    Geological cosmetic surgery? Does the concept apply to things like fighting forest fires, most of which are caused by lightning? Maybe Big Mama Nature wants to clear some property for other uses, who are we to say her nay? And the invasive species thing, are we to assume that at one time all flora and fauna were in their assigned location and that unnatural man got them all in a game of “fruit basket upset”? Somehow, I gotta believe that animals and plants really don’t need man’s help to exploit new environments. http://nailheadtom.blogspot.com/2012/05/invasive-species.html

  3. Colt Larsen says:

    The view is superb. I nearby had to squint to see the line between the actual image and its reflection. Quite a beauty even though it’s man-made.

Leave a Reply to Colt Larsen