In 1862, Thoreau’s Wild Apples first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly. It took me about 140 more years for me to get my hands on a chapbook version copy of it. (Pretty good read if you get it.)

What I liked about the piece is that he compared the fate of the apple trees in his area to the fate of man. He did not like where either were going at the time. Although I read the book years ago, the following passage has stuck with me for a while…

It would be well, if we accepted these gifts with more joy and gratitude, and did not think it enough simply to put a fresh load of compost about the tree.

I try to be more thankful. I hope to be more appreciated than having garbage thrown at my feet.