Zimmels thoughts

heaven and earth in jest is a work filled sith vivid images. right from the start she writes in such away that you can

not help but see it in your mind. what you see is gritty, dirty, intense and real. i feel like i could paint a picture of the

events she describes and they would both be accurate and dramatic. she writes this way because she is trying to

give you a sense of her stream thought as she interacts with nature. there is something refeshing in her look at

nature. often nature writers will paint a picture of nature as a happy serene place were everything lives in peace.

Annie Dilard understands that much of the beauty in nature comes from its calusness it coldness and its conflict.

nature is not peaceful inactive existance. it is the impasioned vigorous struggle to survive and reproduce in a world

that seems indifferent to our existance. life is short it is like a flash but it is no less beautiful for that. its very fragile

nature makes it all the more beautiful in some ways. like a flower that grows in the himalaya's which may only

bloom for one day. what is delicate thing doing in such a harsh climate? yet it lives and it existance is beautiful. it

displays seeming inherent defience in life. as if these flowers will is so strong that they will live if even only day

and so they live on high up on the mountian side.