The Twelve Moons of the Year. June 02.

Significant sentences from The Twelve Moons of the Year by Hal Borland, a chronology of the New England seasons.

"Green leaves are so plentiful from April till October that we take them for granted." p. 158.

"The leaf is commonplace, but without the green leaf we would perish, all of us." p. 158.

"They [leaves] absorb carbon dioxide, a waste product of our bodies and machines, and give off oxygen, our very breath of life." p. 158.

"One average oak tree will give off 150 gallons of water on a hot summer day." p. 158.

"The wheelbarrow may lack the grace of an airplane, the speed of an automobile, the initial capacity of a freight car, but its humble wheel marked out that phase of civilization which leads down Main Street, through the front gate, around the house, and into the back garden." p. 160.

"Like faith, the wheelbarrow can move mountains." p. 160.

"Behold the bumblebeee, that big, improbable black and gold insect that shouldn't be able to fly but does...." p. 162.

"Innate wariness is the price of life." p. 164.

"There is no other smell in the world quite like fresh-cut hay seasoning in the June sun." p. 165.

"June without roses, all kinds of roses, just wouldn't be June." p. 165.