What exactly is the meaning of all those stone walls in the middle of the forest? Why do beech and birch trees have smooth bark when the bark of all other northern species is rough? How do you tell the age of a beaver pond and determine if beavers still live there? Why are pine trees dominant in one patch of forest and maples in another? What happened to the American chestnut? Turn to this book for the answers, and no walk in the woods will ever be the same.

    Maybe not all that unusual a thing to do in the seventies, but what Kenn was searching for was a little different: not sex, drugs, God, or even self, but birds. A report of a rare bird would send him hitching nonstop from Pacific to Atlantic and back again. When he was broke he would pick fruit or do odd jobs to earn the fifty dollars or so that would last him for weeks. His goal was to set a record - most North American species seen in a year - but along the way he began to realize that at this breakneck pace he was only looking, not seeing. What had been a game became a quest for a deeper understanding of the natural world. Kingbird Highway is a unique coming-of-age story, combining a lyrical celebration of nature with wild, and sometimes dangerous, adventures, starring a colorful cast of characters.

    His previous book, Seven Herbs: Plants as Healers, was a watershed in teaching herbal healing as a part of total wellness. In The Book of Herbal Wisdom, this is continued and enlarged in wonderful detail. This is a must-read for anyone working in the natural health field or interested in self healing with herbs. For those of us who consider not only our physical relationships to the herbs, but also the metaphysical ones, this book is invaluable. It affirms that when we work closely with nature, and the energies of the herbs and herbal medicine, we all are much better off. This is a work that empowers the reader and gives them a very deep knowledge of the herbs discussed.

    A crucial figure in the creation of our national parks system and a far-seeing prophet of environmental awareness who founded the Sierra Club in 1892, he was also a master of natural description who evoked with unique power and intimacy the untrammeled landscapes of the American West. The Library of America’s Nature Writings collects his most significant and best-loved works in a single volume.The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913) is Muir’s memoir of growing up by the sea in Scotland, of coming to America with his family at age eleven, and of his early fascination with the natural world. My First Summer in the Sierra (1911) is his famous account of the spiritual awakening he experienced when, in 1869, he first encountered the mountains and valleys of central California, of which he wrote: “Bathed in such beauty, watching the expressions ever varying on the faces of the mountains, watching the stars, which here have a glory that the lowlander never dreams of, watching the circling seasons, listening to the songs of the waters and winds and birds, would be endless pleasure…. No other place has ever so overwhelmingly attracted me as this hospitable, Godful wilderness.”The natural history classic The Mountains of California (1894) draws on half a lifetime of exploration of the High Sierra country to celebrate and evoke the region’s lakes, forests, flowers, and animals, its glaciers, storms, floods, and geological formations, in a masterpiece of observation and poetic description: “After ten years spent in the heart of it … it still seems to me above all others the Range of Light, the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain-chains I have ever seen.”Stickeen (1909), Muir’s most popular book, is the affectionate story of his adventure with a dog in Alaska. Rounding out the volume is a rich selection of essays—including “Yosemite Glaciers,” “God’s First Temples,” “Snow-Storm on Mount Shasta,” “The American Forests,” and the late appeal “Save the Redwoods”—highlighting various aspects of his career: his exploration of the Grand Canyon and of what became Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks, his successful crusades to preserve the wilderness, his early walking tour to Florida, and the Alaska journey of 1879.

    With this astonishing collection of tree portraits, Thomas Pakenham produced a new kind of tree book. The arrangement owed little to conventional botany. The sixty trees were grouped according to their own strong personalities: Natives, Travellers, Shrines, Fantasies and Survivors. From the ancient native trees, many of which are huge and immeasurably old, to the exotic newcomers from Europe, the East and North America, MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE TREES captures the history and beauty of these entrancing living structures. Common to all these trees is their power to inspire awe and wonder. This is a lovingly researched book, beautifully illustrated with colour photographs, engravings and maps - a moving testimonial to the Earth's largest and oldest living structures.

    The bonobo, least known of the great apes, is a female-centered, egalitarian species that has been dubbed the "make-love-not-war" primate by specialists. In bonobo society, females form alliances to intimidate males, sexual behavior (in virtually every partner combination) replaces aggression and serves many social functions, and unrelated groups mingle instead of fighting. The species's most striking achievement is not tool use or warfare but sensitivity to others.In the first book to combine and compare data from captivity and the field, Frans de Waal, a world-renowned primatologist, and Frans Lanting, an internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer, present the most up-to-date perspective available on the bonobo. Focusing on social organization, de Waal compares the bonobo with its better-known relative, the chimpanzee. The bonobo's relatively nonviolent behavior and the tendency for females to dominate males confront the evolutionary models derived from observing the chimpanzee's male power politics, cooperative hunting, and intergroup warfare. Further, the bonobo's frequent, imaginative sexual contacts, along with its low reproduction rate, belie any notion that the sole natural purpose of sex is procreation. Humans share over 98 percent of their genetic material with the bonobo and the chimpanzee. Is it possible that the peaceable bonobo has retained traits of our common ancestor that we find hard to recognize in ourselves?Eight superb full-color photo essays offer a rare view of the bonobo in its native habitat in the rain forests of Zaire as well as in zoos and research facilities. Additional photographs and highlighted interviews with leading bonobo experts complement the text. This book points the way to viable alternatives to male-based models of human evolution and will add considerably to debates on the origin of our species. Anyone interested in primates, gender issues, evolutionary psychology, and exceptional wildlife photography will find a fascinating companion in Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape.

    More than 140 photographs, made over a period of twenty years, reveal the unique personal aesthetic Frans Lanting brings to wildlife photography, as well as the startling new perspective on animals his images provoke. In a review of his work The New York Times states, "Mr. Lanting's photographs take creatures that have become ordinary and familiar and transform them into haunting new visions."This book's exquisite images are accompanied by personal stories and observations from a lifetime of working with wild animals around the world, ranging from orangutans in the rain forests of Borneo to emperor penguins in Antarctica. More than 70 species are represented in this astonishing portrait gallery celebrating the diversity of life on earth.Frans Lanting does not seek in these encounters the beauty traditionally revered by wildlife photographers: "The perfection I seek in my photographic compositions is a means to show the strength and dignity of animals in nature." Frans Lanting's work has been lauded by designers as art, by biologists as science, and by others as a new vision of the relationship between animals and people - one that challenges us to look animals in the eye and see ourselves.

    In the richly illustrated pages of this book, she unfolds a myriad of wonders — the pattern of a bee abdomen, varieties of ice forms and sky colors, the joys of a garden — and shows us how to capture them on the page. Hinchman's respect for the miracle of our five senses, and her passion for what they can tell us about the world, is contagious. "Start with a smell, like a crushed marigold leaf, the sea, coal smoke," she advises, and from such raw materials begin to "decant the stuff of life" into journal form, "where it remains fresh, still tasting of its source." Even for one who has no intention of journal-keeping, to delve into Hinchman's own work is to see with new eyes. A Trail Through Leaves is a true gift and inspiration, a treasure-box of ways to write, draw, and be alive to the world. * "This is an important book, brilliantly produced. Its light will linger a long, long time." — John R. Stilgoe, professor in the history of landscape, Harvard University * "[B]oth a rich work of performance art and a personal growth tool with many handles." — Boston Globe

    Turner's clear, insightful prose and Anton's masterly illustrations combine to offer specialists and newcomers alike an accurate and accessible guide to the evolution of cats.

    But what are the real needs that must be satisfied to live rich, fulfilling lives? This is the question David Suzuki explores in this wide-ranging study. Suzuki begins by presenting the concept of people as creatures of the Earth who depend on its gifts of air, water, soil, and sun energy. He shows how people are genetically programmed for the company of other species, and suffer enormously when we fail to live in harmony with them. And he analyzes those deep spiritual needs, rooted in nature, that are also a crucial component of a loving world. Drawing on his own experiences and those of others who have put their beliefs into action, The Sacred Balance is a powerful, passionate book with concrete suggestions for creating an ecologically sustainable, satisfying, and fair future by rediscovering and addressing humanity’s basic needs.

    Travel with author-illustrator Thomas Locker and follow our planet's most precious resource--water--on its daily journey through our world.

    Based on vegetative rather than floral characteristics, this practical guide gives anyone who works with plants the ability to identify weeds before they flower.- A dichotomous key to all the species described in the book is designed to narrow the choices to a few possible species. Identification can then be confirmed by reading the descriptions of the species and comparing a specimen with the drawings and photographs.- A fold-out grass identification table provides diagnostic information for weedy grasses in an easy-to-use tabular key.- Specimens with unusual vegetative characteristics, such as thorns, square stems, whorled leaves, or milky sap, can be rapidly identified using the shortcut identification table.The first comprehensive weed identification manual available for the Northeast, this book will facilitate appropriate weed management strategy in any horticultural or agronomic cropping system and will also serve home gardeners and landscape managers, as well as pest management specialists and allergists.

    . . a man tracks his wife through a winter wilderness . . . an ancient ocean buried in the foothills of the Appalachians becomes a battleground for a young wildcat oilman and his aging mentor. Here is Bass at his magical, passionate, and lyrical best.

    Heinrich has spent a lifetime observing the natural world, and now he shares his vast knowledge and reflections on the trees of the Northeast woods and the rhythms of their seasons.From the DNA contained in an apple seed to the great choiring branches far beyond a young boy's reach, Heinrich explores a natural world in scientific and personal terms. Heinrich is a scientist, but his words speak with the power and subtle grace of a poet. He uses this gift, and his intimate knowledge of his 300 acres of Maine forest, to expose the forest's rhythms, and in doing so, illustrates the vital but tenuous link among man, trees, birds, insects, and all the creatures of the forest. Thanks to Bernd Heinrich, readers will finally see the forest and the trees.

    Herbalist and naturalist Gregory Tilford provides a thorough introduction to the world of herbal medicine for everyone interested in plants, personal well-being, and a healthy environment.

    Without consultation, Abbey based the central character of eco-guerilla George Washington Hayduke on his friend Doug Peacock. Since then Peacock has become an articulate environmental individualist writing about the West's abundant wildscapes.Abbey and Peacock had an at times stormy, almost father and son relationship that was peacefully resolved in Abbey's last days before his death in 1989. This rich recollection of their relationship and the dry places they explored are recalled in Peacock's honest and heartfelt style in this poignant memoir.

    With a poignant, simple storytelling and gorgeous artwork, this bestselling picture book introduces plant life cycles while reminding us to let go and embrace change.One tiny dandelion seed wants to hold onto its dandelion home, until the winter wind carries it away. The seed worries it won't be able to find its place in such a vast and frightening world. But everything is much more beautiful than it ever thought, and perhaps finding a new home isn't such a bad thing after all.Great for parents or giftgivers looking for a:graduation giftgift for the new school yearbook to provide inspirationgift for a loved one at a crossroadsintroduction to plant life cycles for the classroom

    Whether you are a first-time allotment holder or an 'old-hand', the Vegetable & Herb Expert will shown you:How to get started.Where to grow your vegetables, and how.What types and varieties to grow.Looking after your plants.Grow your own herbs.Deal with pests and diseases.Reliable, easy-to-follow advice and information from EXPERT books - the world's best-selling gardening series.

    He includes information on how bees make honey, what a beekeeper does, and products that contain beeswax--everything from lipstick to waxes for buffing surfboards. Micucci's rare gift for making science enjoyable and accessible is again revealed in this remarkably witty, rich salute to the honeybee.

    The Inner Landscape explores the themes of self-exile and hardship, and the Celtic way of welcoming paradox and finding precious light in the darkest valleys of our inner terrain.

    Lightning strikes; the tree crashes to the ground. Now it’s a giant log. In this fascinating book, author Wendy Pfeffer and illustrator Robin Brickman introduce readers to they life cycle of a tree. The informative, lyrical text is complemented by stunning, three-dimensional paper sculptures that showcase the forest ecosystem, inspiring readers to take a close look at the trees—and logs—in their own backyards.

    . . . Anyone with the slightest interest in biology should read this book."--The New York Times Book Review"A marvelous museum of the past four billion years on earth--capacious, jammed with treasures, full of learning and wide-eyed wonder."--The Boston GlobeFrom its origins on the still-forming planet to the recent emergence of Homo sapiens--one of the world's leading paleontologists offers an absorbing account of how and why life on earth developed as it did. Interlacing the tale of his own adventures in the field with vivid descriptions of creatures who emerged and disappeared in the long march of geologic time, Richard Fortey sheds light upon a fascinating array of evolutionary wonders, mysteries, and debates. Brimming with wit, literary style, and the joy of discovery, this is an indispensable book that will delight the general reader and the scientist alike."A drama bolder and more sweeping than Gone with the Wind . . . a pleasure to read."--Science"A beautifully written and structured work . . . packed with lucid expositions of science."--Natural History

    Harry Greene presents every facet of the natural history of snakes—their diversity, evolution, and conservation—and at the same time makes a personal statement of why these animals are so compelling.This book provides an up-to-date summary of the biology of snakes on a global basis. Eight chapters are devoted to general biology topics, including anatomy, feeding, venoms, predation and defense, social behavior, reproduction, evolution, and conservation; eight chapters survey the major snake groups, including blindsnakes, boas, colubrids, stiletto snakes, cobras, sea snakes, and vipers. Details of particular interest, such as coral snake mimicry and the evolution of the0 rattle, are highlighted as special topics. Chapter introductory essays are filled with anecdotes that will tempt nonspecialists to read on, while the book's wealth of comprehensive information will gratify herpeto-culturalists and professional biologists.Greene's writing is clear, engaging, and full of appreciation for his subject. Michael and Patricia Fogden are known internationally for their outstanding work, and their stunning color photographs of snakes in their natural habitats are a brilliant complement to Greene's text. Here is a scientific book that provides accurate information in an accessible way to general readers, strongly advocates for a persecuted group of animals, encourages conservation—not just of snakes but of ecosystems—and credits science for enriching our lives. In helping readers explore the role of snakes in human experience, Greene and the Fogdens show how science and art can be mutual pathways to understanding.

    The stories range from the sweetly heartwarming to the often surprising and make a uniquely memorable and inspiring gift to animal lovers around the world.

    Woodswoman III: Book Three of the Woodswoman's Adventures [Paperback]

    This first comprehensive guide to the region's macrolichens offers exquisite color photographs, line drawings, and full-page detailed descriptions for over 200 species.

    And tameness is a tender, innocent lie."  So writes Richard Nelson, award-winning author of The Island Within, in this far-ranging and deeply personal look at our complex relationship with this most beautiful, but amazingly elusive, creature.Heart and Blood: Living with Deer in America  begins with the author tracking a deer on a remote island off the Alaskan coast. From there he takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey, visiting such disparate territories of the deer as a hunting ranch in Texas; a state park in California; a Wisconsin forest on opening day of the hunting season; Fire Island, New York; and the suburbs of Denver--where the deer have become so numerous that they pose hazards to landscape, motorist, and pedestrian alike.Nelson examines the physiology of the deer, explaining how its unique digestive system and grazing habits have enabled it to thrive in the varied environments of the United States, whether wild, suburban, or urban. He investigates the different methods of controlling the deer's skyrocketing numbers, from the more "humane  methods of relocation and sterilization, to hunting--in all its forms. Nelson also explores the role of the deer in traditional Native American life, takes us with him on a hunt, and awes us as he witnesses the birth of a fawn--an event rarely seen by humans.By the end of this journey we understand the deep reverence in which the author holds this magnificent animal. For to know the deer is to glimpse the hidden heart of wildness itself. In Heart and Blood, Richard Nelson has produced a book of outstanding insight and intelligence that brings us closer to our natural world and, in the process, closer to our own true nature

    government agents trapped, poisoned, or shot every wolf they could track down in and around Yellowstone National Park. By 1926, not one wolf was left alive. After generations of struggle between the wolf's friends and foes, the wolf was returned to Yellowstone in January of 1995. Thomas McNamee chronicles the drama of the reintroduction, the political machinations behind it, and the harrowing details of the wolves' own lives. In his telling, it is easy to see why this saga has stirred the imagination of a nation.

    You'll find: * All the identification information on a single page-color photographs, range map, and detailed description. No more fumbling to match photos with text! * For fast reference-a compact alphabetical index inside the front and back covers. * More than 900 high-resolution color identification photographs. * An illustrated Quick Guide to the most common backyard and feeder birds. * Convenient colored tabs keyed to each bird group. * Concise and comprehensive text, with information on habitat; plumage variation; feeding, nesting, and mating behavior; bird feeder proclivity; and-for the first time in any guide-population trends and conservation status.

    Appendixes present hard-to-find data on plants and animals of the prairies, seed collection dates, propagation methods, sources of seeds and equipment, and more. Also included is a key to restoration options that provides detailed instructions for specific types of projects and a comprehensive glossary of restoration terms.Written by those whose primary work is actually the making of prairies, The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook explores a myriad of restoration philosophies and techniques and is an essential resource for anyone working to nurture our once vibrant native landscapes back to a state of health.

    Covering all known species (around 460), this guide will enable identification of all land mammals likely to be seen anywhere in Africa. Detailed accounts, with colour illustrations, are provided for most species, but some complex small mammal groups are summarized by genera. The colour illustrations show both sexes in sexually dimorphic species, and there are also a wealth of line drawings illustrating typical behaviours, the function of camouflaged or disruptive markings and the details of interspecific variation among closely allied species. Distribution maps show the ranges of most species covered.

    The book contains advice on a wide range of topics relevant to ecological gardening, including the handling of group wholesale orders, killing invasive plants, collecting and planting wild seeds, starting a tree island, and planting a patio habitat.

    The area is one of the northern hemisphere's richest unprotected wildlife habitats, the home of Canada's largest grizzly bears as well as the rare all-white spirit or Kermode bear.Ian and Karen McAllister, both environmental campaigners, have spent over ten years exploring, photographing and researching this once-forgotten coast. The book contains over 150 stunning colour photographs, including some of the most extraordinary images of wild bears ever seen in print, lush river valleys where grizzly bears feast on salmon, dramatic Coast Range mountaintops, exotic plants of the ancient rainforest, and some of the most magnificent coastline in Canada. With these photographs, a personable, informative commentary by Ian and Karen and environmental writer Cameron Young, and full-colour maps and drawings, this book is the first to unveil the beauty and magnificence of this unique place.Since 1990, fourteen large rainforest valleys on the mainland coast of British Columbia have been lost to industrial logging. The publication of The Great Bear Rainforest aided Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, Ian and Karen McAllister's Raincoast Preservation Society and other environmental groups successfully lobby BC's provincial government for a moratorium on grizzly-bear hunting and the protection of a large portion of the area as parkland in 2001.

    This book is for everyone who wants to take charge of their life in a positive, efficient and incredibly effective way. One of the exciting aspects of co-creative science is that everyone actively participates in it. This is a science that you must personally apply to your life in order to experience its benefits. And it has extraordinary benefits for your health and for your environment. This is a science that you can use personally and it will make a difference. Co-Creative Science is also a book about nature. What makes this science unique is that it establishes a direct, active and personal partnership between you and nature for working together to successfully address the many problems that pummel our everyday lives. Once you have finished reading this book, you will be convinced that there is an intelligence in nature, that this intelligence can be accessed by anyone who wishes and that together with this intelligence we can forge a partnership that can make real changes.

    Jurassic Park, and, The lost world: the complete story, based on the screenplay by David Koep and Michale Crichton.

    Where massive in-migrations and exoduses were taking place, more plants and animals had become endangered. Locations with stable human populations sustained native wildlife more easily over the long term. This revelation prompted Nabhan to spend the next three years studying relationships among cultural diversity, community stability, and conservation of biological diversity in natural habitats. He concentrated on "cultures of habitat, " human communities with long histories of interacting with one particular kind of terrain and its wildlife. Here the author of The Desert Smells Like Rain has combined the eye of an ethnobiologist with chronicles from "the Far Outside, " that realm in which diverse natural habitats and indigenous cultures coexist. The result is a mosaic of essays that celebrates th vital connections between soul and space.

    Be patient. And so begins an encounter with the promise and wonder of nature that will last a lifetime. Deep Woods, Wild Waters traces the winding path that carried Douglas Wood from one wonder to the next, through a landscape of rocks, woods, and waters, with stops along the way for questions and reflections that link human nature to the larger mysteries of the natural world.Like life itself, the author s way is not linear. One landmark leads back to a favorite campsite, another prompts him to consider the gospel of rocks, another launches him into the wilderness beyond the stars a contemplation of time and space and humanity s place in all of it. The creator of thirty-four books, including the classic Old Turtle, and an expert woodsman and wilderness canoe guide, Wood brings all his storytelling and bushwhacking skills to bear as he takes us hurtling down wild rapids, crossing stormy lakes, or simply navigating the treacherous currents and twisty trails of everyday life.A warm, generous, and knowing guide, Wood maps a journey that, as he says, anyone can take, through a landscape anyone can know. Turning the pages, hiking the portages, running the rapids, or scanning the wild country from high promontory, he invites us to say, in a soul-satisfying moment of recognition, I know that place."

    Lyrical passages in her wolf pup diary describe how the pups tumble and play and when they first learn to howl and talk wolk talk. Readers are reminded of the changes in nature that are happening in the lower 48 states as they "look to the north" to watch the wolf pups grow. Jean George's words and Lucia Washburn's breathtaking paintings give the reader a rare glimpse of one of nature's noblest creatures: the wolf.

    You'll learn the traditional methods of brain tanning as well as how to use a dozen eggs or soap and oil instead. This revised and updated edition includes substantial improvements to the process that make it even easier for you to produce soft and durable buckskin. What's New A new 15 minute step that creates: • Easier to soften hides • Hides that come out super soft • Hides that take the dressing even when dry, which in turn: • Removes the variability of trying to get the perfect moisture content before dressing • Makes it much easier to get complete brain penetration on thick hides, which makes tanning thicker hides such as moose, elk or even thick deer, way less work. • Makes it so you can skip one of the wringing steps (which takes 15 minutes itself). Other key new highlights include: • Different skinning cuts for a better hide shape. • How to tan Moose, Elk & Antelope • Bibliography (thorough and user-friendly) • Important improvements to the Bucking process. • Important improvements to the Dressing step to ensure success for first timers. • A step-by-step guide to varying this books' Basic Method if you want to try the `pre-smoking' method, or if you want to tan without the bucking step. Buckskin is durable, soft, washable and warm. A hand-made garment for people all over the word for millennia, it breathes and stretches with your body, cuts the wind and won't tear on briars. It is excellent to wear hiking, hunting or around the house. Plus you don't need to hunt. Deer skins that would otherwise go to waste are available every fall from neighbors, locals and butcher shops.

    Gruchow turns a naturalist's eye on a wilderness of wolves, moose, and loons as he visits national parks and other scenic spots. Drawing on the works of Thoreau and Wendell Berry, he explores the relationship of person to place.

    The book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

    Using the color bar and key number, locate the group of birds within the pages of the book.

    The Cure Is in the Cupboard: How to Use Oregano for Better Health (Revised Edition)

    A fisherman’s fisherman, Grigar claimed to have caught more than a million pounds of fish in his sixty years along the coast. Yet fervent and abiding concern for those waters spurred his commitment to a catch-and-release policy for all fish under three pounds and to Gulf Coast conservation. His tales and tips are the bible of those now wading the Plugger’s favorite spots.

    Where is the Brown Swiss cow from?2. How much milk does a cow produce in a day?3. Which one of the cow's four stomachs rhymes with "Yo! Chase 'em!"?The answers to these and many other questions about cows can be found in the amusing but factual book about, you guessed it, COWS!With his clever and humorous text, Jules Older has again collaborated with popular Ben & Jerry's illustrator Lyn Severance. This book is chock-full of facts with rich, bold colors that shouldn't be missed.

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    Up to date and featuring the latest research, this handy volume represents every bird species of New Zealandin seventy-four stunning, original, color paintings by a leading New Zealand bird artist, including rare and recently extinct species. Renowned New Zealand bird experts Barrie Heather and Hugh Robertson have written a brief and informative identification guide which provides the reader with a summary of what is known about the birds of New Zealand. Each page contains a color plate and accompanying distribution map on the facingpage. The maps provide sufficient plumage and behavioral details that should help identify the species, sex and/or age of the bird in the field as well as where species breeding in New Zealand may be found in suitable habitat. An additional handbook section provides details on distribution,populations, conservation, breeding, behavior, and feeding habitats of each species. Maps for vagrants, stragglers, and non-native seabirds, and for migratory waders (which can turn up in any estuary around the coast) are also included in this section. The only field guide to New Zealand birds officially endorsed by the Ornithological Society of New Zealand, the Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand is a wonderful addition to the libraries of birders, nature enthusiasts, and travelers alike.

    In a gesture that speaks eloquently of Kline's relationship with the natural world, he scratched the animal gently with his walking stick, and the sleeping creature arched its back with pleasure at the attention.Like its title, this collection of essays on nature, farming, animals, insects, and other topics bespeaks the gentle demeanor and appreciation for nature that shape the author's descriptions of the world around him. Whether sharing his fondness for watching clouds while he rests his horses or for planting flowers in his favorite spot in the woods, David Kline offers a view of life that few of us take time to experience. Scratching the Woodchuck resounds with knowledge, reverence, and a joyful spirit, and to follow Kline's explorations of the landscape and animals around his farm is to sense and come to share his respect for and unity with the earth.

    Make the most of the sensory opportunities provided by every element in the garden, from the soil itself to the plants and wildlife to the walls, surfaces, and structures. Through evocative, sometimes startling photographs, along with highly personal and poetic writing, you'll become vividly aware of seasonal changes; of the agave as an astonishing piece of living sculpture; of light diffused through leaves; of the smoothness of seed beans ready for planting; of the raging red that brightens autumn leaves and ripe berries; of the crisp chill in the garden asleep for the winter. The words and images will resonate long after the covers are closed. A Selection of Garden Book Club.

    A Wilderness Within is the award-winning biography of this writer, teacher, and activist who was a harbinger of the raising of America's ecological consciousness.

    Photographs and brief descriptions depict how lions in Botswana hunt and kill thieir prey at night.

    Fully updated, this 2014 edition features full descriptions, ecological notes and distribution maps, as well as a general introduction and regional guide to the best places to watch dragonflies. The 2002 edition was shortlisted for the BP Natural World Book Prize.

    A historical herbal encompassing over one hundred ten species of North American leaves explores the superstitions, beliefs, myths, medicines, and poetry attributed to each variety.

    She describes over 300 of her favorites, selected for their size, shape and seasonal color, and offers advice on what to select for a specific location or purpose.

    A story about his decision to devote himself to his greatest loves - falconry, his bird dogs, and the prairie he calls home.

    A solitary wildebeest stares motionless as if mesmerized by the towering mass; a small caravan of giraffe drifts across the plain in solitary file, necks undulating to the slow rhythm of their gangling stride. There is an inexplicable deja vu about the African savannas, as if some subliminal memory is tweaked by the birthplace of our hominid lineage." --from In the Dust of KilimanjaroIn the Dust of Kilimanjaro is the extraordinary story of one man's struggle to protect Kenya's wildlife. World-renowned conservationist David Western -- who grew up in Africa and whose life is intertwined with the lives of its animals and indigenous peoples -- presents a history of African wildlife conservation and an intimate glimpse into his life as a global spokesperson and one of Kenya's most prominent citizens.Beginning with his childhood adventures hunting in rural Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Western describes how and why the African continent came to hold such power over him. In lyrical prose, he recounts the years of solitary fieldwork in and around Amboseli National Park that led to his gradual awakening to what was happening to the animals and people there. His immersion in the culture and ecology of the region made him realize that without an integrated approach to conservation, one that involved people as well as animals, Kenya's most magnificent creatures would be lost forever.His accounts of his friendships with the Maasai add a personal dimension to the book that gives the reader new appreciation for the centuries-old links between Africa's wildlife and people. Continued coexistence rather than segregation, he argues, offers the best hope for the world's wildlife. Western describes how his unique understanding of the potentially devastating problems in the region helped him pioneer a new approach to global wildlife conservation that balances the needs of people and wildlife without excluding one or the other.More than an exceptional autobiography, In the Dust of Kilimanjaro is a riveting look at local and global efforts to preserve species and protect ecosystems. It is the definitive story of wildlife conservation in Africa with a strong and timely message about co-existence between humans and animals.

    Asleep in the Sun -- the third and most ravishing volume in Hans Silvester's best-selling photography series -- presents the feline denizens of Greece's Cydadic Islands engaging in their most highly refined activity. Stretched across a bright doorway, curled into a sun-baked corner, rolling lazily against one another, these languid animals glow in Silvester's masterful portraits.

    The project began when Rudolf's predecessor, Ferdinand I, commissioned master calligrapher Georg Bocskay tocreate a model book of calligraphy. A preeminent scribe, Bocskay assembled a vast selection of contemporary and historic scripts.Years later, at Rudolf's behest, miniaturist Joris Hoefnagel filled the spaces on each manuscript page with insects, fruits, flowers, and other botanical images. The combination of word and illustration is rare and, on its tiny scale, constitutes one of the marvels of the Central EuropeanRenaissance.Nature Illuminated reproduces forty-one pages from the original codex. Those who love and collect beautiful books will be endlessly fascinated by Hoefnagel's imagery and invention. The accompanying commentary identifies and explains the details of Hoefnagel's exquisitely craftedilluminations.

    Every page in this picture book reveals how these remarkable insects work together to create this amazing food.With detailed illustrations and diagrams, Gail Gibbons offers a classroom-ready nonfiction picture book that makes complex scientific concepts understandable and entertaining for young readers.

    Now, as more women make animals the subject of their investigations, significant new ideas are emerging--based on the premise that animals are honored co-sharers of the earth. This unprecedented anthology features original stories, essays, meditations, and poems by a vast array of women nature writers and field scientists, including:DIANE ACKERMAN - VIRGINIA COYLE - GRETEL EHRLICH - DIAN FOSSEY - TESS GALLAGHER - JANE GOODALL - TEMPLE GRANDIN - SUSAN GRIFFIN - JOY HARJO - BARBARA KINGSOLVER - URSULA LE GUIN - DENISE LEVERTOV - LINDA McCARRISTON - SUSAN CHERNAK McELROY - RIGOBERTA MENCHÚ - CYNTHIA MOSS - KATHERINE PAYNE - MARGE PIERCY - PATTIANN ROGERS - LINDA TELLINGTON-JONES - HAUNANI-KAY TRASK - GILLIAN VAN HOUTEN - TERRY TEMPEST WILLIAMS

    Clears up misconceptions about bats and answers common questions about their characteristics, appearance, and behavior.

    Faced with global warming, invasive tourism, pollution and loss of habitat, penguins -- if they are to survive -- need protection more than ever.Over the past 18 years, Wayne Lynch has traveled to Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and a dozen remote island clusters in the tempestuous Southern Ocean, studying and photographing all 17 species of penguins in their natural habitats. In Penguins of the World, he documents the extraordinary life cycles of these tough, resourceful and beautiful animals in the harshest environments imaginable.This second edition has been revised, redesigned and expanded, with detailed information and the latest facts and statistics on:Anatomy Egg and chick development Mating and feeding habits Predators Habitats Climate change Changes to food levels. Through his engaging text and on-location photographs, Wayne Lynch captures these birds in their wide variety of activities and behaviors. Penguins of the World will appeal to anyone interested in birds, nature and science.

    

    

    . . . If there is any difference between you and me it is only that my curiousity has already led me to exlore and know what lies beyond death in the Afterlife."This fascinating volume recounts the story of some of his voyages past the edge of life, using techniques learned at The Monroe Institute. Moen describes for the reader how to access this knowledge for themselves and to learn what the Afterlife really is.

    In stunning photographs from Scotland's leading photographer, this collection showcases the best of Scotland.

    An incredible visual journey, Primates offers an exciting glimpse of gorillas, monkeys, apes, and other primates at home in the jungle. Wolfe traveled around the globe capturing as many species of primates on film as possible, journeying to the remote jungles of Central and South America, Uganda, and Rwanda, and to research centers and wildlife refuges worldwide. The resulting photographs celebrate the exotic beauty of these intelligent and, all too often, endangered species. From the playful antics of adolescents to the tender gestures between mother and child, Primates reveals an animal culture that has been, until now, almost completely inaccessible. Biologist Barbara Sleeper's accompanying text presents fascinating insights drawn from her many years spent observing primates. A marvelous blend of word and image, Primates offers a studied look at these remarkable creatures and their vanishing habitat.

    It also includes a few unusual species of plants and animals.

    Also included are a resource guide to animal protection organizations and pet enthusiast groups worldwide, quotes from famous animal lovers, and suggestions on what we can do to give something back to both pets and wildlife.

    Close-up photographs show the symptoms and causes of plant ailments and a detailed A-Z plant listing explains the common problems of different plant types. There are also suggestions for organic, biological and chemical controls.

    Each account includes a full-color and detailed illustration, along with information about habitat, nesting, feeding, voice, similar species, as well as a range map. Also included are a glossary of terms, a birder's checklist and separate indexes for scientific and common names. A map features the best birding sites and describes the most notable viewing locations. Perfect for beginner birders and beyond.

    First published in 1997 and illustrated throughout by John Nash, this is a personal, autobiographical view of the changing year, in the hedgerows and fields and in the life of the parish.

    But instead of taking off with his fishing buddy, James put down his rod and surrendered. It was a move that would change his life forever. Expecting a small fine and a lecture, James instead received enough knowledge about fishing and the great outdoors to last a lifetime.The story of an unlikely friendship, Joe and Me is a book for those who remember the mentor in their life, the one who changed the way they look at the world.

    This appealing anthology, illustrated with Jackson’s sketches and photographs, brings together his most famous essays, significant but less well known writings, articles originally published under pseudonyms, a bibliography of his landscape writings, and introductions that place his work in context."Jackson remains a model for civil discussion of architecture and the landscape."—Michael Leccese, Architecture"[This book] contains several wonderful essays in what is best described as domestic anthropology, including a paean to mobile homes and an investigation of the humble garage. Vintage Jackson."—Witold Rybczynski, Lingua Franca"A large and varied sampler of essays by the late doyen of American cultural geography. . . . Highly recommended for geographers and students of the American scene."—Kirkus Reviews"Horowitz makes the reader appreciate once again the dignity and affection Jackson brought to garages, supermarkets, cemeteries, or the urban grid."—Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times

    Marked by dramatic extremes of climate and terrain, it is home to black bears, snow leopards, elephants, and flying lizards, and it is the only place in the world where both lions and tigers reside.After a lifetime devoted to the study and conservation of the tiger, Valmik Thapar turns his attention to the plants and animals that share the tiger's domain. How have so many species survived on such a crowded continent, where twenty percent of the world's population exerts intense pressure on the environment? Thapar links the region's tremendous diversity to the reverence shown to nature by Eastern religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. But fifty years after India's independence, modern and urban values are seriously eroding the subcontinent's ecosystems.Thapar's careful natural history is enriched by his personal anecdotes and musings on spirituality and culture. His own reverence for the wildlife and landscape he encounters and his brilliant photographs make this book an enthralling read, and it is also a moving argument for more vigilant nature conservation on the Indian subcontinent.

    In this illustrated book, each species entry proceeds by season, explaining in non-technical language, how the bird nests, mates, and rears its brood in spring to how the bird survives in winter. Each bird's evolutionary adaptations, place in culture history and name origin also appear.

    Astounded by the beauty of the pressed flowers and plants he saw at the herbarium of the Natural History Museum in London, Knight spent three and a half years choosing from among the museum’s six million specimens. Having selected 46 as the most visually arresting, he captures them here with his camera in a book as fresh as the greatest works of botanical art and illustration.Engaging commentaries by curator Sandra Knapp describe Knight’s choices. In his preface, Knight marvels at the variety of forms and hues: “Some were like feathers of neon, breathtakingly delicate. . . others were like urban plans, architecturally precise . . . many were joyful splashes of color like children’s paintings, carefree, happy nonsense.” In Flora, the loveliness of the pressed plants and flowers, the graphic quality of the photographs, the elegance of the design, and the vividness of the color reproductions yield a sublime and stunning ensemble.

    Written for anyone interested in mushrooms, this stunning field guide features: beautiful color photographs of mushrooms in their natural habitats; keys, clues, and diagrams to help you identify your finds; poisonous mushrooms and how to avoid eating one; and the basics of mushroom structure, life cycles, habitats, and names.

    Children learn to identify a variety of different plant, animal and insect species.-- Helps children identify different species.-- Includes scrapbook pages, for notes or drawings.-- Features detailed true-to-life illustrations.

    A challenging ascent of 13,770-foot Grand Teton is detailed, as well as encounters with loggers, hunters, miners, and hikers. Yellowstone National Park, the oldest in the world (established in 1872), forms the core of this vast area. The book explores its fabled past, roams its idyllic backcountry, and celebrates its rich, vital and wild ecosystem.

    Children discover that they do not have to travel great distances to see great things as they read about amazing animals, insects, and birds that live in backyards across North America.-- A Parents' Choice Approval for 19 title book and tape series.-- Glossary highlights key plant and animals terms.-- Read-along cassettes include page-turning tones and authentic sound effects.-- Toys authenticated by Smithsonian Institution curators for realism.

    In the widely acclaimed Another Country: Journeying toward the Cherokee Mountains, Christopher Camuto describes the tragic collision of natural and cultural history embedded in the region. In the spirit of Thoreau’s “Walking,” Camuto explores the Appalachian summit country of the Great Smoky Mountains--the historical home of the Cherokee--searching for access to the nature, history, and spirit of a magnificent, if diminished, landscape.As the author takes the reader through old-growth forests and ancient myths, he tells of the attempted restoration of Canis rufus, the controversial red wolf, to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He details the impact of European occupation, and his meditations on the enduring relevance of Cherokee language, thought, and mythology evoke an appreciation of what were once sacred rivers, forests, and mountains.Through this attempt “to catch glimpses of the Cherokee Mountains beyond the veil of the southern Appalachians,” Camuto forges a new consciousness about the complex, conflicted past hidden there and leaves us with an important, thought-provoking book about a haunting American region.

    Here are one-of-a-kind portraits of puffins, caribou, leopards, baboons, and grizzly bears. Here also are some of the most spectacular landscapes ever collected -- breathtaking shots of the aurora borealis, thunder clouds over the Serengeti plains, water lilies in a Montana pond, ice on a Yukon lake, and a grove of quaking aspens -- highlighting the splendor of nature in her many moods. 10 1/4" x 12". Color photos.

    This book shows the best wildlife pictures taken by photographers worldwide.

    This easy-to-use guide by the late Chess Lyons is loaded with brilliant color photographs and complete descriptions of nearly 500 species.

    But with the coolness of nightfall, kangaroo rats, kit foxes, owls, and long-nose bats emerge, helping to pollinate the noble plant and to feast on its rich fruit.

    Lavishly illustrated with maps, drawings, diagrams, and nearly 500 full-color photographs by the state's best nature photographers, it also contains 58 essays by Indiana's leading scholar-teachers and practitioners. In seven major sections, the book covers the landscape (then and now), the seven defined natural regions, the current plant and animal life, how the land has been altered by people, how to protect what remains, and alternative futures. While the book is a celebration and recognition of natural wonders and beauty, it is also a record of pillage, misuse, and ignorance, as well as a call to arms for those who would preserve Indiana's environment.

    A gifted landscape architect and writer, Lawrence (1904-85) chronicled her experiences with plants in a voice treasured for its distinctive blend of horticultural expertise and stylistic elegance. Through her six books, all still in print, Lawrence continues to inspire an ever-widening circle of dedicated readers everywhere. Between 1932 and 1978, Lawrence wrote more than fifty articles for gardening magazines, newsletters, and plant society bulletins. Uncovered in a seven-year search and collected here for the first time, these writings offer further testament to her talent for conveying practical details in an engaging, literate manner. Treating such subjects as trees and shrubs, bulbs, perennials, native plants, even fellow gardeners, this collection will be welcomed by the novice and knowledgeable gardener alike.

    This book by James H. Harding is a welcome volume that is sure to increase the awareness and knowledge of these often-misunderstood Great Lakes animals.Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region offers thorough coverage on all the important subjects and issues confronting the world of herpetology today. While being a volume of great usefulness to naturalists in this field of study, it is also accessible to high school and college students. It serves as a handy reference tool for the many people who live in the Great Lakes wilderness areas and for tourists venturing into the wild for the first time.

    A boy discovers the reason: Bear has stolen the chinook. Then the boy and his friends -- Owl, Coyote, Weasel, Prairie Chicken, and Magpie -- set out in pursuit of Bear. When they locate his den, the problem becomes freeing the chinook from the fierce animal. But thanks to the boy's ingenuity, the group prevails. Spring returns, the tribe celebrates, and from that time on, Bear is compelled to sleep through winter. Harriet Peck Taylor's simple, strong words and brilliant batiks capture the drama of the story and the stark beauty of the winter landscape.

    For upper-level undergraduate courses in herpetology, found in departments of Biology, Zoology, Natural Resources, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, this book presents the biology of amphibians and reptiles as the product of phylogenetic history and environmental influences acting in both ecological and evolutionary time.

    Includes simple experiments and activities, such as making a collection, growing a crystal, or watching a stalactite grow.

    With stunning photography and inspiring text, renowned outdoor photographer Galen Rowell has created the ultimate tribute to the area where he was born and raised.Rowell’s extraordinary photographs make clear why so many have worked so hard to preserve the Bay Area's wildlands, and why this work must continue. Miles of rugged coastline, valleys, bays, islands, mountains, and ocean are captured in stirring images, including a full moon setting through pines on Mount Tamalpais, sunlight illuminating poppies in Tilden Regional Park, and winter storm waves crashing against the rocky San Mateo coast.Working with Rowell to create this superb collection of images was award-winning photographer Michael Sewell, also a Bay Area native. Sewell has spent years photographing Bay Area wildlife at close range in their natural habitat.More than 170 spectacular photographs and Rowell's rich descriptions of Bay Area landscapes, as well as interviews with those who were instrumental in preserving them, combine to make Bay Area Wild an unforgettable celebration of these unique national treasures.

    These paintings are accompanied by commentary from the artists on inspiration, technique, field research, subject and insight on how they achieved colors and patterns, exquisite detail, unique viewpoints, action, expressive lighting, out-of-the-ordinary poses, animals' unique characters, tension, and nature's camouflage.

    The authors trekked all over North America to photograph the 38 American species in the wild. This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.

    I own all rights and when I can I'll issue a second edition.

    The boy and his two younger sisters help Pere gather material for a textbook, often accompanying him on field trips into their untamed backyard...Admirable."-School Library Journal

    Concise descriptions of the animals and their tracks are combined with detailed drawings of the front and back prints, stride patterns and other important identifying aspects. A perfect guide for teachers, parents, hikers and urban adventurers.

    The magnificent color and detail make this a dazzling guide for young bird watchers. The drawings help kids identify water birds and where they live. Full color.

    Dunmire and Tierney are able to eloquently illustrate the importance of the people-plant relationship that has existed throughout the ages among Native peoples and how ancient traditional uses of these plants inform contemporary uses today. Through vignettes of background information drawn from lore and cultural traditions and interviews with tribal elders, Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners describes uses for edible, medicinal, and dye plants, as well as plants used for making baskets, tools, and shelters. Complementing these essays are profiles of fifty new trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and grasses common to traditional Native America.