Happy Birthday, Naturalist!

Theodore Roosevelt best remembered as the 26th president of the United States was born this day (Oct. 27) 1858. But he was so much more than the President. He shaped this country in ways that many will never know, for he was a man who studied life.

Early in his own life, though times of personal fragility when life expectancy was not very high, Roosevelt's fascination with the world in which he lived laid a foundation of what grew to be an uncanny strength.

It might be argued there are four kinds of hunters, the first being the kind that hunt for food. The second kind of hunter are those that hunt for sport, for the challenge of acquiring a trophy. The third kind of hunter is the kind that sought to understand the world. The fourth and final kind of hunter are those that that don't know what they are doing. Period.  Roosevelt was very much the first three, but the third (The Naturalist) was the core of his being. He hunted to understand, foremost.

He collected. He recorded. He compared and contrasted everything he found (mice included) and came to conclusions by reading and examination. When a boy, he began his own museum of natural history in his own house (many times to the dismay of the housekeeper, though his mother seemed to show a higher tolerance of his collections).

Much could be said of the soldier, the leader, the statesman--but as a Naturalist, I think Roosevelt knew he was perhaps the last of his kind--the kind of man who moved with an open eye and raw fascination. He saw the world, understood it and conquered it. He was a man of determination, which is seen in nearly every photograph taken of him in later years--one hand always balled into a fist--power under control--ready for action.

Keep your eyes and ears open to the world around you--every plant, animal, person. Watch for opportunity and grow through lifelong learning and discover the spirit of greatness as found in people like Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir, (he walked from Indiana to Florida, just to see the land) John James Audubon, Henry David Thoreau, Jonathan Edwards, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, even Charles Darwin (one need not agree with his admitted probabilities reached by studying domesticated animals and cultivated plants neglected by naturalists--as noted in his introduction--but he made more of an effort than any of us will today).

Happy Birthday, Naturalist!