Messages from the Wild

An Almanac of Suburban Natural and Unnatural History

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Nature
Cover of the book Messages from the Wild by Frederick R. Gehlbach, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Frederick R. Gehlbach ISBN: 9780292779914
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: July 5, 2010
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Frederick R. Gehlbach
ISBN: 9780292779914
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: July 5, 2010
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English
Seeking a closer connection with nature than the manicured lawns of suburbia, naturalist Fred Gehlbach and his family built a house on the edge of a wooded ravine in Central Texas in the mid-1960s. On daily walks over the hills, creek hollows, and fields of the ravine, Gehlbach has observed the cycles of weather and seasons, the annual migrations of birds, and the life cycles of animals and plants that also live in the ravine. In this book, Gehlbach draws on thirty-five years of journal entries to present a composite, day-by-day almanac of the life cycles of this semiwild natural island in the midst of urban Texas. Recording such events as the hatching of Eastern screech owl chicks, the emergence of June bugs, and the first freeze of November, he reminds us of nature's daily, monthly, and annual cycles, from which humans are becoming ever more detached in our unnatural urban environments. The long span of the almanac also allows Gehlbach to track how local and even global developments have affected the ravine, from scars left by sewer construction to an increase in frost-free days probably linked to global warming. This long-term record of natural cycles provides one of only two such baseline data sets for North America. At the same time, the book is an eloquent account of one keen observer's daily interactions with his wild and human neighbors and of the lessons in connectedness and the "play of life" that they teach.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Seeking a closer connection with nature than the manicured lawns of suburbia, naturalist Fred Gehlbach and his family built a house on the edge of a wooded ravine in Central Texas in the mid-1960s. On daily walks over the hills, creek hollows, and fields of the ravine, Gehlbach has observed the cycles of weather and seasons, the annual migrations of birds, and the life cycles of animals and plants that also live in the ravine. In this book, Gehlbach draws on thirty-five years of journal entries to present a composite, day-by-day almanac of the life cycles of this semiwild natural island in the midst of urban Texas. Recording such events as the hatching of Eastern screech owl chicks, the emergence of June bugs, and the first freeze of November, he reminds us of nature's daily, monthly, and annual cycles, from which humans are becoming ever more detached in our unnatural urban environments. The long span of the almanac also allows Gehlbach to track how local and even global developments have affected the ravine, from scars left by sewer construction to an increase in frost-free days probably linked to global warming. This long-term record of natural cycles provides one of only two such baseline data sets for North America. At the same time, the book is an eloquent account of one keen observer's daily interactions with his wild and human neighbors and of the lessons in connectedness and the "play of life" that they teach.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Toward a Philosophy of the Act by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands since the First World War by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Up Against the Wall by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Screening Stephen King by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Nahuat Myth and Social Structure by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Saga of the Jomsvikings by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Marginal Voices by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Amazon Sweet Sea by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book The Journey of a Tzotzil-Maya Woman of Chiapas, Mexico by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Judicial Review in Mexico by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Imagining the Turkish House by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book Hilda Hurricane by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book The Global Environment and International Law by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book The Road to OPEC by Frederick R. Gehlbach
Cover of the book My Diary by Frederick R. Gehlbach
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy