The Bullhead Queen: A Year on Pioneer Lake

by Sue Leaf

The Western approach to nature has always operated under both spiritual and scientific views. While Christianity decrees that human beings have dominion over nature, evolutionary biology teaches us that we are but highly adapted animals among a biological network of millions of other species. What is our proper relationship to wild animals-and what is our responsibility to them? In The Bullhead Queen , Sue Leaf exemplifies the moral aspect of humans to nature through a collection of engaging meditations on the places she sees every day on Pioneer Lake in east-central Minnesota. Reflecting on the birds she peers at through binoculars and the Lutheran church that anchors the lake's southern shore, Leaf contemplates how her relationship to nature has been colored by the Christian theology of her childhood. Acknowledging the influence of the church on her view of the natural world, she follows the liturgical calendar as a thread, chronicling the change of seasons over the year. Leaf considers the results of the assumption that nature is ours to we continue to fish, trap, and hunt animals whose populations are ghosts of their former selves and produce mounting environmental pressures on their habitats. Observing the ways in which the heavy hand of human beings has changed the landscape of Pioneer Lake, and many others like it, she also rejoices in the ways in which the lakes remain wild and exuberant, influencing the lives of all who encounter them.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of small essays that take you through the life on a small lake in Minnesota over the course of a year. I was drawn to the book because of the area--my grandparents lived on North Center Lake, and see that church on the cover? I was married there. Leaf does a marvelous job writing descriptions, then expanding them to a comment on something bigger. Reading these essays was a lovely occupation of my time during springtime in Minnesota.

[Rachel Coyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

gotts love those MN authors!

[Gerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed her book Potato City and thought I'd check this out but a bit disappointed. If you don't live in or know the area you probably won't be interested. The church-year tie in seemed forced.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in the Twin Cities and I'm familiar with the geographic area the author focuses on. Although I'm not a religious person, I appreciated the author's use of the church year as an anchor for the book and natural year. The ruminations over land/water use (trapping, water skiing, etc) were thought provoking as well, and Sue Leaf's struggle with all of those is quite evident. The end of life thoughts in the last few chapters were thought provoking as well.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this gentle book over the course of a year as I used it as a devotional, following the seasons in the book. It is a matching of the seasons in nature and the church year. I would read it again in the same way...after getting it back from everyone I want to pass it along to. Thank you, Sue Eddy for your recommendation!!!

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a result of a book group, not knowing what it was about ahead of time. The first couple chapters were a bit slow and I thought I may not finish it since I have plenty of other books on my list. I kept going and found the technical aspects, including biology, environment, and climate perspectives to be the most interesting. The struggle with the "green" lake and the ski racers seemed out of place at first but it becomes all a matter of perspective on usage vs. saving. Several interesting points were the dead squirrel, the bullhead queen of course, the special oars for the canoes, counting birds at Christmas, the changing migration patterns of various species, and the like. I found the chronological nature of the Christian church superfluous but it is a model to pace and organize the book. I am glad I read it but know I would not have picked it up without the book group.