The Wild Here and Now by Susan Charkes, Illustrated by Mary Patten Priestley (Arboreality Press, 2013)
A collection of short essays about nature where you least expect to find it: right in front of you. A squirrel peers from a tree cavity into the driving snow. A mayfly, haloed in the glow of a streetlight, alights on the hood of a new car. A turkey vulture rises silently overhead on an invisible airy elevator.
Many of these essays were originally published in my "Nature's Way" and "Nature of Bucks" columns. With new introductory material and lovely drawings by Mary Priestley, The Wild Here and Now is a book to sip and savor, to keep by the door so you can bring it with you outside. It will inspire you to discover nature close to home, as if for the first time.
Reviews
- "With its minute, local detail, Charkes' musings and gentle queries will resonate with all readers who wonder about the value of flowers and birdsong in an increasingly urban world. A charming, thought-provoking walk in the woods." - Kirkus Reviews (Read full review)
- "Every community should have a watchful naturalist to sound alerts, celebrate the seasons, and tell you what to look for when and where. Susan Charkes is not only watchful but keenly observant, thoughtful, and eloquent. Here are four seasons worth of invitations to pay closer attention to the wild—right here, right now, all around you."- Gale Lawrence, author of A Field Guide to the Familiar, The Beginning Naturalist and A Naturalist Indoors.
The Wild Here and Now
by Susan Charkes, illustrated by Mary Patten Priestley
Paperback: 170 pages
Publisher: Arboreality Press
ISBN-10: 0615902146
ISBN-13: 978-0615902142
List Price: $9.95
Available at Farley's Bookshop, and on Amazon.com