Diary of a Citizen Scientist Quotes

“I feel the need to fall in love with the world, to forge that relationship ever more strongly. But maybe I don’t have to work so hard. I have thought nature indifferent to humans, to one more human, but maybe the reverse is true. Maybe the world is already in love, giving us these gifts all the time—the glimpse of a fox, tracks in the sand, a breeze, a flower--calling out all the time: take this. And this. And this. Don’t turn away.”
― Sharman Apt Russell, Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and Other New Ways of Engaging the World

“In 1320, in Avignon, France, the Church had proceedings against the larvae of cockchafers, or melolonthine scarabs, which were damaging food crops. Before the trial, priests visited the area to summon the larvae to appear before the Bishop on pain of excommunication, advising the grubs of their right to counsel. Meanwhile, an advocate was designated whose defense of his clients—when they failed to appear—was that as creatures of God they had a right to eat. Moreover, their absence at the trial was due to their not being guaranteed safe passage. The judges disagreed and resolved that the larvae not only had to quit ravaging crops but leave the farming area entirely. Larvae who failed to comply would be killed. (In another medieval trial, offending larvae were excommunicated first.)”
― Sharman Apt Russell, Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and Other New Ways of Engaging the World

“In every moment of the day, in the middle of any day, I can become newly engaged with the world. Newly competent. There's so much to discover! I can still become something I am not.”
― Sharman Apt Russell, Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and Other New Ways of Engaging the World