a counter, usurping some woman's place? 

Nature is a good mother, after all, in our latitude.  She does not coddle
and over-indulge her children, but rewards their love abundantly,
invigorates them if they dwell in her presence, and develops mind and
muscle, heart and soul, if they obey her laws and seek to know her well.
Although infinitely rich, she has not the short-sighted folly of those
parents who seek to place everything in the hand of a child without cost.
On the contrary, she says, "See what you may win, what you may attain."
Every crop is a prize to knowledge, skill, industry.  Every flower is a
beautiful mystery which may be solved in part; every tree is stored
sunshine for the hearth, shelter from the storm, a thing of beauty while
it lives, and of varied use when its life is taken.  In animals, birds,
insects, and vegetation we are surrounded by diversified life, and our
life grows richer, more healthful and complete, as we enter into their
life and comprehend it.  The clouds above us are not mere reservoirs of
water for prosaic use.  In their light, shade, and exquisite coloring they
are ever a reproach to the blindness of coarse and earthy minds. 

The love of Nature is something that may be developed in every heart, and