Book Info
Topics: Nonfiction, Nature
LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/work/3092900/
Acquired from: Little Free Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA [see visit log]
Started reading: August 6, 2025
Finished reading: August 9, 2025
Review
A book with enthusiastic views of nature (animals, plans, seasons, etc.) presented in a way that just wanted me to see sources. Like, many mentions of things that happened in “recent times” (the 90s) but in a way that reminded me of those newspaper tidbit sections that were just there to give you something to read. Bibliography at the end which does include things used to write the book itself, but I personally would’ve preferred something more science-y rather than casual info-sharing.
Reading Updates
Page 0: This one didn’t come with a bookmark like Moby-Duck did, so I’m using one I got from Downtown Books in Milwaukee. I picked up this book partly because of the topic, partly because the blurbs on the back (“Sy Montgomery has insight into the Others that every nature writer on this continent envies.”), and partly because the author photos shows Sy holding a barred owl.
Page 7: (acknowledgments) wtf is a book lice
Page 11: (forward by author’s friend) Moby Dick mentioned!
Page 12: So basically the argument is that treating animals scientifically (using “it” instead of he/she, don’t anthropomorphize or assign human characteristics) has created a barrier between us (humans/natural world) and we have lost something as a result. Which could be true! But I also think that assigning human things to animals isn’t treating the animal as its own thing, but rather as an extension of humanity.
I should note this book was written in 1995. Anyway onto the actual book now
Page 20: These essays are short and (from this first one at least) mostly interesting facts about animals and how people view them. They’re also grouped by season, and the first one is autumn.
This first essay is about insects in September— mostly crickets— and there’s several things that made me go “wait what” and there’s no citations so I’m gonna have to do a lot of Wikipedia reading later. Like crickets make sounds by rubbing a wing against a hardened piece of other wing. Scientists apparently “reversed the wings” in a lab somewhere to see if the crickets could still make noise— but how did they reverse the wing? Also katydids are ”left winged” and field crickets are “right winged.” But why??
Page 23: Second essay is about bogs, which I don’t think I’ve visited yet or at least not deliberately so. Perhaps I’ll have to put that on my travel wishlist for next year.
Page 26: Third essay is about seeds and the stuff left behind once they get eaten or blown away etc which is a nice topic actually and not one most people think of! Usually we get rid of “dead” plants once the flowers die off. We even mow lawns so the grass doesn’t go to seed. But seeds (and seed pods) can be quite pretty!
Page 32: Fourth essay is about black bears, which I’ve never seen in person and don’t particularly want to see in the wild. I think they’re cute, but I don’t want to meet one.
Page 36: Fifth essay is about feeding wild birds by hand, which actually interests me greatly! (Especially in this particular backyard at this housesit in Ann Arbor, where there’s so many birds roaming around.) The key seems to be easing into it, to get the birds used to you being there over several weeks. Also to have things they desperately want to eat, ha!
Page 40: Sixth essay is about falls, the things that some insects do to trees and plants to grow babies. It’s gross to think about but much of nature is gross in some way.
Page 45: Seventh essay (and last of the autumn grouping) is about mountain lions, specifically ones that may be repopulating in New England. As it’s been 30 years since this book was written, it’d be interesting to see how things are nowadays…
Page 52: Eighth essay is about sounds in winter. Author (via another author) recommends doing the “Big Ear” position: cup hands around ear and gently push outer ear outwards with forefinger and thumb. This amplifies small and faraway sounds— I tried it and it works!
Page 57: Ninth essay is about flying squirrels, which I do really want to see! I rarely go out at night tho and that’s when they’re active.
Page 61: Tenth essay is about pine trees, mostly about their historical important in the US. Also mentions Boreas and Pitys, which is one of those Greek myths where a woman loses her life because a man can’t handle having feelings.
Page 64: Eleventh essay is about deer— I didn’t know they don’t have front teeth! Tho tbh I don’t know much about deer specifically anyway.
Page 68: Twelfth essay is about ice, and is particularly dreamy. Actually I want some ice cream now…
Page 72: Thirteenth essay is about owls, who apparently can’t move their eyes in their sockets and that’s why they do that weird head turn thing. Wow!
Page 77: Fourteenth essay is about foxes and focuses on mating pairs, which is cute. Tbh kind of a boring chapter tho…
Page 81: Fifteenth essay is about birch trees, which if I’ve seen before I don’t know that I ever remarked upon it. That seems to be a theme with many of the things in this book and me.
Page 85: Sixteenth essay (and last of the winter group) is about springtails (snow fleas), another thing I’ve never heard of in my life!! I used to live in several places with snow and I don’t remember ever seeing or hearing about these things before.
Okay I just got four more LFL books so I need to speed through the second half of this book, so no more chapter-by-chapter notes.
Page 109: Just finished a chapter about black flies and now looking over at some tiny flies hanging out on my garden side table I think I found some…
Word List
- Moraine: “(geology) An accumulation of rocks and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.”
- Tamarack: “Any of several North American larches [coniferous tree], of the genus Larix.”
Book Wishlist
đź“š Pods: Wildflowers and Weeds in Their Final Beauty by Jane Embertson, about floral arranging
📝 “Something You Can Do if You Don’t Have Time to Patch the Ozone Hole” by Doris Gove
📚 Swampwalker’s Journal by David Carroll, about bogs
đź“š With the Trees by Maud Going (Archive.org)
See also: Books Read (2025) / All Reading Logs
