Chapter+Three+pg.+37-54

Chapter Summary: **Chapter 3 -** "**Winter"**  "Winter" according to chapter three, is when exploration becomes available through the departure of leaves and grasses; spring, summer, and falls foliage drop to the ground leaving a barren canvass to search and delight in. The definition of pilgrim is "wanderer", an exploring soul, a person who seeks and revels in new land and new visions. And this is what makes up "Winte//r //" in Annie Dillard’s book. She mentions the brave and bold men who trekked to unknown plains and over virgin soils. It's these men that gave her inspiration and lust for the world in which she traveled. "Winter" takes us to the highest tree tops and below to the frozen streams, opening our eyes to the present but rarely seen inhabitants.

Dillard makes a bizarre observation throughout this chapter about mans delight, and mans annoyance in regard to nature. The starlings are an example of beauty versus repulsiveness. One man’s desire to hold and another to destroy. The town’s obsession with ridding the landscape of the starlings leaves us bewildered as they go to extremes to exterminate the birds without success. Through their dislike of the starlings, many people go to great lengths, slighting the starlings of suet and seed in a most devious way while trying to feed other feathered creatures. Dillard continues through the chapter sharing with us the weird behaviors of us humans and our reaction to nature.  Through Dillard’s narrative, nature in its nakedness opens up the reader to endless possibilities. The coot that at one time seemed aloof and bashful, was in fact bold and brash. This chapter sees the unseen and revisits the subjects in a different perspective.

"Radford had starlings the way a horse has flies" (pg 38) "The flight extended like a fluttering banner, an unfurled oriflamme, in either direction as far as I can see." (pg 42) "The snow looks light and the sky dark, but in fact the sky is lighter than the snow. Pbviously the thing illuminated cannot be darker than its illuminator. The classical demonstration if this point involves simply laying a mirror flat on the snow so that it reflects in its surface the sky, and comparing by sight this value to that of the snow." (pg 45) "I waited until it submerged again, then made a break for the trunk of the Osage orange. But it came up at all at once, as though the child in the tub has held the duck under water with both hands, and suddenly released it." (pg 46)

Vocabulary: --Pilgrim: **a wanderer**, explorer, someone who travels to a shrine or religious place, Puritan's who traveled to Plymouth Rock --Starlings: a common songbird with a stocky body, a strong beak, strong legs, and glossy greenish black feathers covered in white spots, which gathers in large noisy flocks --Hordes: a large group of people --Roosting: a place where a bird rests or sleeps --Reprieve: to halt or delay the punishment of somebody, especially when the punishment is death --Forsynthia: a bush that flowers in early spring before its leaves emerge --Gibbous: describes the Moon or planet before and after it is full, when it has more than half its dish illuminated --Pique: a bad mood or feeling of resentment, especially when brought on by an insult, hurt pride, or loss of face --Skein: a length of yarn or thread wound loosely and coled together --Oriflamme: a red banner or flag that was adopted as the national flag or France in the Middle Ages --Weft: the horizontal threads of a woven fabric or a tapestry --Quince: an aromatic apple-shaped or pear-shaped yellow or orange fruit that is edible only when cooked --Dire: characterized by severe, serious, or desperate circumstances --Fir: an evergreen tree with needle-shaped leaves and erect female cones --Beguiling: having the power to gain people's interest or devotion --Aerial: done by or involving aircraft --Herring: a small commercially important fish with silvery scales --Hilt: the handle of a sword, knife or dagger --Desolate: bare, inhabited, and undeserted --Liturgy: the form of service used to celebrate Communion in a Christian denmination, especially in Easter churches --Frontispieces: publishing an illustration at the beginning of a book, usually facing the title page --Coot: a water bird with ling lobed toes, black feathers and a white beak forhead --Umbrage: resentment or annoyance arising from some offense --Flensing:a knife used to strip blubber or skin, usually on a whale --Surd:an irrational number, a voiceless sound in speech --Sonant: a voiced speech sound --Orb:a sphere, a celestial body --Infinitesimal:indefinitely or exceedingly small, cannot be measured --Sublimiation:a feeling completely and unrelenting happiness or joy, total ecstasy --Whital:In addition, besides http://dictionary.reference.com/____. 19 Feb. 2009 .
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 * Who are the people Dillard refers to in her book? Why would they be given the honor of being mentioned ? What importance do they play within her life and her profound perception into nature? One can tell a lot about a person by what they read. Reading fuels our curiosity, opens doors into the unseen, and takes us into areas of insightfulness we may not have thought about or looked at in a particular way. Reading influences and informs us, feeding us with thoughts and ideas of our own through it's exploration of content. **

--Pliny: Born, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (61/63 - ca. 113) "He was a lawyer, natural philosopher and author in Ancient Rome".

--Edwin Way Teale: (June 2, 1899 – October 18, 1980) He was an American Naturalist who crusaded across the country "documenting the environment". He was a photographer as well as a Pulitzer Prize winning author. He is best remembered by his series of books entitled: "// The American Seasons" // in which he travels 75,000 miles across America, chasing the different seasons. Sounds pretty neat!

-- John Cowper Powys: (October 8, 1872 - June 17, 1963) He was a Welch philosopher, lecturer, and writer. He had many books of poetry published. One of his distinct writing characteristics is bringing his Welsh ancestry with its occult overtones and mixing it with the mythology of his heritage.

--Leonardo da Vinci: (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) Leonardo is best known for his artistic genius. I feel compelled to call him by his first name as, he was quite a guy! Besides his artistry, he was an inventor, mathematician, scientist, musician, botanist, engineer, and lived well beyond his time in an intellectual sense. This guy did it all!

--Knud Johan Rasmussen: (June 7, 1879 - December 21, 1933) "He was from Greenland and a polar explorer as well as an anthropologist. He was credited for being the first to cross the Northwest Passage with sled dogs". I'm thinking someone (like the Eskimo's) did it before him ... huh? His claim to fame beyond that though is his study of Eskimos.

--Farley Mowat: He's still kicking it at 88 years of age! He is Canadian and a lecturer of conservation. He is also a writer and a man with passion in regard to the environment and misconceptions relating to it. He is best known for "// Never Cry Wolf //" a biography of a sort about his time living amongst wolves in the Arctic.

--Sir John Franklin: (April 16, 1786 – June 11, 1847) "He was a British Royal Naval officer and explorer of the arctic wilderness. He is responsible for mapping two thirds of the coastal region of the north and disappeared while mapping parts of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic".

--Peter Freuchen: (February 2, 1886 - September 2, 1957) Danish explorer and writer. He is known for many contributions to the Arctic through exploration and the Inuit Eskimos with whom he lived with. He and his buddy, Knud Johan Rasmussen, navigated across Greenland's arctic cap together. He is also known for being a strong member of the "Danish Resistance" during World War II and was for a short time held captive by Nazi Germany. He has worked on films and consulted on many projects regarding the Arctic areas and especially the Inuit people.

--Jedediah Strong Smith: (January 6, 1799 - May 27, 1831 presumed death) He played an intricate part in bringing settlers to the west. He was thought to be one of the first non-native Americans to explore the coastal region of the west and travel through the Southwest as well as being the first to go across, and at length, to what we know of as Utah today. He was a hunter, trapper, and in some words, a "Trailblazer" and had explored the Rocky Mountains to the Sierra Nevada. He disappeared in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

--Peter Skene Ogden: (12 February 1790 – September 27, 1854) This guy was not too cool! He was an explorer and also "Chief Trader" for one of the largest fur companies within Canada and the United States. He was extensively knowledgeable of the Northwest Territories through his exploration but was known for his lack of respect to the law and life. He later went on to write a book about his travels and his many Indian wives.

--Milton Sublette: (1801-1837) He was also a trapper and while I do not want to discount trapping, most of these men of the times were explorers as this was untouched land filled with the unknown dangers as well as adventures.

--Daniel Boone: (1734–1820) We all love the stories of Daniel Boone! Did you know he was responsible for the first settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains and one of the first to explore Kentucky? Besides being a hunter and explorer in his own right, he served in the military during the Revolutionary War and became one of "America's first folkloric heroes".

Works Cited “Daniel Boone.” __Wikipedia__. 19 Feb. 2009. 24 Feb. 2009 . “Edwin Way Teale.” Wikipedia. 28 Oct. 2008. 24 Feb. 2009 . “Farley Mowat.” Wikipedia. 24 Feb. 2009. 24 Feb. 2009 . “Jedediah Smith.” Wikipedia. 23 Feb. 2009. 24 Feb. 2009 . “John Cowper Powys.” Wikipedia. 24 Feb. 2009. 24 Feb. 2009 . “John Franklin.” Wikipedia. 24 Feb. 2009. 24 Feb. 2009 . “Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen.” Wikipedia. 11 Feb. 2009. 24 Feb. 2009 . “Milton Sublette.” Wikipedia. 5 Aug. 2008. 24 Feb. 2009 . “Peter Freuchen.” Wikipedia. 30 Dec. 2008. 24 Feb. 2009 . “Peter Skene Ogden.” Wikipedia. 9 Feb. 2009. 24 Feb. 2009 . “Pliny the Younger.” Wikipedia. 19 Feb. 2009. 24 Feb. 2009 .