--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Shade Branch, except for a deep hole or…" description: "\"“Shade Branch, except for a deep hole or two, dries up in the summer. But as the light weakens and the days shorten, the winter rains start it running ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/wendell-berry-236_broken-pieces_shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-t_924846.jpg" --- # Shade Branch, except for a deep hole or two, dries up in… ![“Shade Branch, except for a deep hole or two, dries up in the summer. But as the light weakens and the days shorten, the winter rains start it running again. One of the happiest moments of my walks is when I get to where I can hear the branch. The water comes down in a hurry, tossing itself this…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/wendell-berry-236_broken-pieces_shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-t_924846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/wendell-berry-236_broken-pieces_shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-t_924846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/wendell-berry-236_broken-pieces_shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-t_924846.jpg) > ““Shade Branch, except for a deep hole or two, dries up in the summer. But as the light weakens and the days shorten, the winter rains start it running again. One of the happiest moments of my walks is when I get to where I can hear the branch. The water comes down in a hurry, tossing itself this way and that as it tumbles among the broken pieces of old sea bottom. The stream seems to be talking, saying any number of things as it goes along. Sometimes, at a certain distance, it can sound like several people talking and laughing. But you listen and you realize it is talking absolutely to itself. If our place has a voice, this is it. And it is not talking to you. You can't understand a thing it is saying. You walk up and stand beside it, loving it, and you know it doesn't care whether you love it or not. The stream and the woods don't care if you love them. The place doesn't care if you love it. But for your own sake you had better love it. For the sake of all else you love, you had better love it.”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nature speaks its own indifferent language; humans should respect and love the environment for its own sake, not for personal benefit. **In simple terms:** The natural world is indifferent, but we should cherish it regardless. Key Takeaway Cultivate reverence for nature. Themes environmental ethics human-nature relationship mindfulness Mood reflective reverent Type philosophical environmental When to use this quote - hiking - conservation work - gardening - nature writing Key Concepts Ecology phenomenology deep ecology Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to love something that doesn’t care? - How can we act responsibly toward indifferent ecosystems? A Different Perspective People often project human emotions onto nature, missing its indifference. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-pieces/) [Hear Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-branch-1460119/) [People talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-talking/) [Shade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade/) [Shade Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade-branch-1460118/) [Stream Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stream-woods-1460120/) [Water Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water-comes-728408/) [Winter rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter-rain/) ## Related quotes > [It is a fact that the entire Kentucky River system, which the central part of the state complacently depends upon for its future water,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-a-fact-that-the-entire-kentucky-river-system-which-the-central/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The places where water comes together with other water. Those places stand out in my mind like holy places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/the-places-where-water-comes-together-with-other-water-those-places/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“Those who don't return become a part of the clouds, a part of the animals that hide in the ravines and of the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/those-who-don-t-return-become-a-part-of-the-clouds-a-part-of-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“In this world, you are very much like a water hose in the garden. Love flows through you, just as water runs through this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/in-this-world-you-are-very-much-like-a-water-hose-in-the-garden-love/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [It has always been a happy thought to me that the creek runs on all night, new every minute, whether I wish it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-has-always-been-a-happy-thought-to-me-that-the-creek-runs-on-all-2/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [This wasn't the sea of the inexorable horizon and smashing waves, not the sea of distance and violence, but the sea of the etenally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/this-wasn-t-the-sea-of-the-inexorable-horizon-and-smashing-waves-not/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“I will tell you the deeper significance of this, which otherwise might seem a banal hydraulic joke. Caus knew that if one fills a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-will-tell-you-the-deeper-significance-of-this-which-otherwise-might/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“When we carry out our "religious duties" we are like people digging channels in a waterless land, in order that when at last water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/when-we-carry-out-our-religious-duties-we-are-like-people-digging/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Water flows from high in the mountains Water runs deep in the Earth Miraculously, water comes to us, And sustains all life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/water-flows-from-high-in-the-mountains-water-runs-deep-in-the-earth/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Water is everywhere and in all living things; we cannot be seperated from water. No water, no life. Period. Water comes in many forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/water-is-everywhere-and-in-all-living-things-we-cannot-be-seperated/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [You don't look back along time but down through it, like water. Sometimes this comes to the surface, sometimes that, sometimes nothing. Nothing goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-don-t-look-back-along-time-but-down-through-it-like-water/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [A bird can fly as high as it wants but it eventually has to come down to earth and get some water... and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbo-slice/a-bird-can-fly-as-high-as-it-wants-but-it-eventually-has-to-come-down/) [Kimbo Slice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbo-slice/) > [“I am sure of this: I am not crying. It is just that stupid drops of water that comes out of my eyes, now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saravana-kumar-murugan/i-am-sure-of-this-i-am-not-crying-it-is-just-that-stupid-drops-of/) [Saravana Kumar Murugan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saravana-kumar-murugan/) > [“Do not let us suppose that if we weep a great deal we have done everything that matters; let us also work hard and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-aon-prakasha/do-not-let-us-suppose-that-if-we-weep-a-great-deal-we-have-done/) [Padma Aon Prakasha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-aon-prakasha/) > [Prepare yourself for when the water comes up to your knees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/prepare-yourself-for-when-the-water-comes-up-to-your-knees/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Broken pieces quotes > [Its funny how someone breaks your heart but you still love them with all those broken pieces..!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-funny-how-someone-breaks-your-heart-but-you-still-love-them-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Planting trees, I myself thought for a long time, was a feel-good thing, a nice but feeble response to our litany of modern-day environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-robbins/planting-trees-i-myself-thought-for-a-long-time-was-a-feel-good-thing/) [Jim Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-robbins/) > [Don't listen to your mind but listen to your heart because at the end of the day its your heart who will break and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-listen-to-your-mind-but-listen-to-your-heart-because-at-the-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When things fall apart, the broken pieces allow all sorts of things to enter, and one of them is the presence of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/when-things-fall-apart-the-broken-pieces-allow-all-sorts-of-things-to/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [The remedy for life's broken pieces is not classes, workshops or books. Don't try to heal the broken pieces. Just forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/the-remedy-for-life-s-broken-pieces-is-not-classes-workshops-or-books/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [“She was a clay pot, and she’d been broken in pieces. There used to be something inside her, and now that it had spilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pasi-ilmari-j-skel-inen/she-was-a-clay-pot-and-she-d-been-broken-in-pieces-there-used-to-be/) [Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pasi-ilmari-j-skel-inen/) > [Don't start your day with broken pieces of the past. Yesterday ended last night. Today is a brand new day and it's yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/don-t-start-your-day-with-broken-pieces-of-the-past-yesterday-ended/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [You were the one who picked up the broken pieces and decided I was worth a shot..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-were-the-one-who-picked-up-the-broken-pieces-and-decided-i-was/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [If you ever leave me baby Leave some morphine at my door Cause It will take a whole lot of medicine to realize What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-mars/if-you-ever-leave-me-baby-leave-some-morphine-at-my-door-cause-it/) [Bruno Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-mars/) > [For God to mend your broken heart you must give him ALL the pieces. You can't hold any back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/for-god-to-mend-your-broken-heart-you-must-give-him-all-the-pieces/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [People keep on saying that you should always follow your heart. but when your heart gets broken into pieces which piece should you follow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-keep-on-saying-that-you-should-always-follow-your-heart-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The day his dad didn’t come home, it was like a huge window over their heads had shattered, and every day they were walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/the-day-his-dad-didn-t-come-home-it-was-like-a-huge-window-over-their/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“He quickly reached for his lyric book and started writing. You sing to me through laughter. I see it dancing in your eyes. Pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-lister/he-quickly-reached-for-his-lyric-book-and-started-writing-you-sing-to/) [Ann Lister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-lister/) > [(T)he world is broken up into pieces, and...it's up to everyone to help put it all back together. It's about recognizing the spark of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mass/t-he-world-is-broken-up-into-pieces-and-it-s-up-to-everyone-to-help/) [Wendy Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mass/) > [“And she could clearly remember how the first time she met him, he was like a sketch paper filled with grey and blue and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basma-salem/and-she-could-clearly-remember-how-the-first-time-she-met-him-he-was/) [Basma Salem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basma-salem/) [Browse all 185 Broken pieces quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-pieces/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Shade Branch, except for a deep hole or two, dries up in the summer. But as the light weakens and the days shorten, the winter rains start it running again. One of the happiest moments of my walks is when I get to where I can hear the branch. The water comes down in a hurry, tossing itself this way and that as it tumbles among the broken pieces of old sea bottom. The stream seems to be talking, saying any number of things as it goes along. Sometimes, at a certain distance, it can sound like several people talking and laughing. But you listen and you realize it is talking absolutely to itself. If our place has a voice, this is it. And it is not talking to you. You can't understand a thing it is saying. You walk up and stand beside it, loving it, and you know it doesn't care whether you love it or not. The stream and the woods don't care if you love them. The place doesn't care if you love it. But for your own sake you had better love it. For the sake of all else you love, you had better love it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-two-dries-up-in-the-summer-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Broken pieces" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-two-dries-up-in-the-summer-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/wendell-berry-236_broken-pieces_shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-t_924846.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/wendell-berry-236_broken-pieces_shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-t_924846.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/wendell-berry-236_broken-pieces_shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-t_924846.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Shade Branch, except for a deep hole or two, dries up in the summer. But as the light weakens and the days…” — Wendell Berry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Shade Branch, except for a deep...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-two-dries-up-in-the-summer-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/shade-branch-except-for-a-deep-hole-or-two-dries-up-in-the-summer-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```