- Table View
- List View
Imperial Dreams: Tracking the Imperial Woodpecker Through the Wild Sierra Madre
by Tim GallagherA decade ago, Tim Gallagher was one of the rediscoverers of the legendary ivory-billed woodpecker, which most scientists believed had been extinct for more than half a century—now Gallagher once again hits the trail, journeying deep into Mexico&’s savagely beautiful Sierra Madre Occidental, home to rich wildlife, as well as to Mexican drug cartels, in a perilous quest to locate the most elusive bird in the world—the imperial woodpecker.The imperial woodpecker&’s trumpetlike calls and distinctive hammering on massive pines once echoed through the high forests. Two feet tall, with deep black plumage, a brilliant snow-white shield on its back, and a crimson crest, the imperial woodpecker had largely disappeared fifty years ago, though reports persist of the bird still flying through remote mountain stands. In an attempt to find and protect the imperial woodpecker in its last habitat, Gallagher is guided by a map of sightings of this natural treasure of the Sierra Madre, bestowed on him by a friend on his deathbed. Charged with continuing the quest of a line of distinguished naturalists, including the great Aldo Leopold, Gallagher treks through this mysterious, historically untamed and untamable territory. Here, where an ancient petroglyph of the imperial can still be found, Geronimo led Apaches in their last stand, William Randolph Hearst held a storied million-acre ranch, and Pancho Villa once roamed, today ruthless drug lords terrorize residents and steal and strip the land. Gallagher&’s passionate quest takes a harrowing turn as he encounters armed drug traffickers, burning houses, and fleeing villagers. His mission becomes a life-and-death drama that will keep armchair adventurers enthralled as he chases truth in the most dangerous of habitats.
The Little Water Sprite
by Otfried Preussler Winnie Gebhardt-Gayler Anthea BellOne spring day, the little Water Sprite is born in a house of reeds at the bottom of a mill pond. Duckweed soup, pickled water fleas, and other dainties are served to celebrate. The little Water Sprite grows up quickly, and soon he is bored of gazing out the window at the newts and fish swimming by. There is a whole new world to see outside his living room, and the little Water Sprite is determined to explore it! In the pond he makes friends with Cyprian the carp and encounters the fearsome nine-eyed lamprey, but his most thrilling adventures await him on dry land.
Observations on the Alewife, Pomolobus Pseudoharengus (University of Toronto Biological Series #6)
by Joseph J. GrahamThe major study in this investigation was one of growth and form, carried out to evaluate differences in growth rates and body proportions between landlocked Lake Ontario and the anadromous Atlantic alewives. Particular attention was also given to the nature of the annual mortality that is characteristic of P. pseudoharengus in Lake Ontario.
River of the Carolinas: The Santee
by Henry SavageThe story of the Santee is, in fact, the story of a major part of the Carolinas east of the Appalachians, for the river drains an immense area of both states from the mountains to the ocean. Savage also describes fully the change-over from the agricultural Old South to the industrial New South, a change sparked largely by the hydroelectric power of the Santee.Originally published in 1968.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
The Runner
by Jane Annixter Paul AnnixterThis is the story of a young wild stallion and a teen-age youth who, together and apart, grew to maturity in the high country of Wyoming. When young Clem Mayfield, better known as Shadow, first saw the band of wild horses in a hidden valley, he instinctively named the fleet roan colt The Runner. From his experience in training polo ponies on his uncle’s ranch, Shadow thought The Runner’s speed and agility and stamina might someday be the sensation of track or field--if the wild colt could be tamed. But his dream was not shared by Uncle Nathan, the shrewd New England horse-trader. Nor by Dewey Danvers, the wizened ex-jockey who was Shadow’s confidant. Nor by George Spreycomb, the expert English trainer. Only Poojer, the ranch dog, believed in The Runner as Shadow did, and in his loyal, doggy way he helped achieve a miracle that confounded even Shadow. Paul Annixter, whose Swiftwater and Brought to Cover are wilderness classics, has here collaborated with his wife, Jane, to produce a tense and moving novel of human, horse, and dog. The youth who understood animals better than people, the horse whose instincts and training triggered opposite impulses, and the dog with unswerving but mixed devotion, live a memorable drama that the reader will not soon forget.
Singing Wilderness
by Sigurd F. OlsonThe book has to do with the calling of loons, with northern lights, and the great silences of land lying northwest of Lake Superior. It is concerned with the simple joys, the timelessness and perspective found in a way of life which is close to the past. I have heard the singing in many places, but I seem to hear it best in the wilderness lake country of the Quetico-Superior, where travel is still by pack and canoe over the ancient trails of the Indians and voyageurs. Thus the author sets the theme and tone of this enthralling book of discovery about one of the few great primitive areas in our country which have withstood the pressures of civilization.Acute natural perceptivity and a profound knowledge of the relationships to be found in nature combine here in vivid evocations of the sights, the sounds, the vast stillnesses, and the events of the wilderness as the seasons succeed each other. But Mr. Olson is not content merely to "describe; he probes for meanings that will lead the reader to a different and more revealing way of looking at the out-of-doors and to a deeper sense of its eternal values. In each of the thirty-four chapters of The Singing Wilderness he has sought to capture an essential quality of our magnificent lake and forest heritage. He shows us what can be read from the rocks of the great Canadian Shield; he offers a delightful essay on the virtues of pine knots as fuel; he writes of the ways of a canoe, of flashing trout in the pools of the Isabella, of tamarack bogs, caribou moss, the flight of wild geese, timber wolves, and the birds of the ski trails. And much more, with something to satisfy every taste for wilderness experience. The Singing Wilderness is a book that no lover of nature will want to be without. To anyone who contemplates a vacation in the lake country of northern Minnesota and adjoining Canada, it is the perfect vade mecum.
Spook the Mustang (Famous Horse Stories)
by Harlan ThompsonSeventeen-year-old David and his parents arrive in California, broke, sick and hopeless, to find Grandy, the family patriarch, missing. This is the exciting, frightening, and heartwarming story of David’s efforts to make Grandy’s ranch workable, help his father recover from a nervous breakdown, calm and train the little black colt he rescued from condors when his mother was killed by lightning, and find Grandy.
The Thrifty Forager: Living off your local landscape
by Alys FowlerAlys Fowler takes a fresh look at foraging, encouraging you to look closer to home, from the weeds in your garden to the trees in your street, rather than the fields and hedgerows of the countryside. Alys showcases her favourite edibles with a plant directory packed with useful information - photographic identification, plant description and tips on how to grow and how to eat it (including recipes such as fruit leathers and chutney) - that will give you the confidence to identify plants yourself. The book also features innovative ideas for eating your local landscape, from community gardens in Todmorden, UK to Edimental (edible ornamentals) gardens in Norway - this is a fast-growing, global phenomenon that is fun, environmentally friendly and thrifty!
A Tree Is Nice
by Janice May Udry"Trees are very nice," says Janice May Udry in her first book for children. She goes on to explain that even one tree is nice, if it is the only one you happen to have. Some of the reasons why trees are so good to have around are funny. Some are indisputable facts. But in all of them there is a sense of poetic simplicity and beauty which will be sure to entrance any young child. Whether your child knows one tree or many, he or she will relish the descriptions of the delights to be had in, with, or under a tree. Marc Simont's joyous pictures, half of them in full color, accentuate the child-like charm of the words. And each painting of a tree or trees shows just how very nice they can be.
Trueboy: The Story of a Great Dog (Famous Dog Stories)
by Thomas C. HinkleA dog story in which the animal, losing for a time home and master, learns to live in the wilds. Young Don Hudson claimed TrueBoy as his own. He was a large wolfhound and they needed a large dog to bring down Old Roarer, the lobo wolf. An act of fate separates TrueBoy from Don for quite some time. But they found each other again after some trying times for the great dog. Join him in his fight for survival.
Vintage Flowers
by Vic BrothersonBeautiful and romantic, Vic Brotherson's flower arrangements focus on traditional, seasonal blooms and foliage, such as alchemilla, lavender, hellebore, peonies and hydrangeas, and perfectly match the vintage pitchers, planters, old glass and retro, charity-shop finds she uses both for displays and as a major source of inspiration. From simple posies to glorious garlands and stunning centrepieces for a Christmas banquet, Vintage Flowers demonstrates just how easy it is to transform a handful of fresh cuttings into arrangements that instantly feel at home and complement the look of a room. Accompanied by step-by-step instructions on using florist foam and chicken wire to making a garland, wreath and hand-tied bunch, plus tips on how to select and condition flowers for longevity, how to pin the perfect corsage, wiring flowers for your hair and how to get the most from your budget, Vintage Flowers promises fabulous results every time.
The Windward Road: Adventures of a Naturalist on Remote Caribbean Shores
by Archie CarrThe Windward Road, published in 1956, made history. When Archie Carr began to rove the Caribbean to write about sea turtles, he saw that their numbers were dwindling. Out of this appeal to save them grew the first ventures in international sea turtle conservation and the establishment of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation.In addition to sea turtle biology, Carr recorded his general impressions, producing a natural history sprinkled with colorful stories.
Amikuk
by Rutherford MontgomeryTHIS IS a tale of adventure in the seas around the Aleutian Islands, seas that are populated by sharks and sea lions, whales and porpoises—and sea otters. Amikuk is a young sea otter. As he grows up and learns to swim and dive for his own food, he also learns that the life of a sea otter is full of dangers—from men who will stop at nothing to gain his valuable pelt, from killer whales, and from deadly sharks. In this exciting and unusual story, Amikuk learns to take care of himself in dangerous waters, and—with the help of an unknown friend, an Aleutian boy named Peter—manages to escape from the clubs and bullets of determined hunters. It is Peter who saves Amikuk and his family from certain death more than once—although the otters never know of Peter's guardianship of their lives. Woven into the story are the excitement of a shipwreck, a thrilling contest between a small band of men and a herd of huge sea lions, Amikuk's narrow escapes from sea marauders. All in all, this is a book that will delight all youthful readers.
Bird and Butterfly Mysteries: The Truth About Migration
by Bernard AcworthAs part of his challenge to the theory of evolution, the outspoken creationist presents alternative theories of bird flight and migration. In 1932, Bernard Acworth established the Evolution Protest Movement (now called the Creation Science Movement) for the purpose of criticizing evolutionary theory in scientific terms. A freelance journalist and amateur ornithologist, he took aim at the accepted science of ornithology with a keenly skeptical eye. Here, Acworth addresses topics including bird and butterfly migration, and the peculiarities of the cuckoo. In Bird and Butterfly Mysteries, Acworth presents a close examination of the science concerning the flight of winged animals. Through this analysis, he exposes errors that call into question many of the major conclusions reached by professional ornithologists. While the two Laws of Currents Acworth proposes in this volume have since appeared in other works on ornithology, he has never received due credit for their discovery.
Boon Island: Including Contemporary Accounts of the Wreck of the "Nottingham Galley"
by Kenneth Roberts Jack Bales Richard WarnerThis classic tale of shipwreck and survival is reprinted in a new edition, with essays that provide a historical perspective and trace the sources from which Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957) drew his tale. A native Mainer, Roberts, whose historical novels include Northwest Passage and Arundel, was intrigued by the story of the December 1710 wreck of the Nottingham. After running aground a dozen miles offshore, the ship broke up, stranding her crew with minimal tools, scant shelter, and a few pieces of cheese. The men survived nearly a month of screeching gales, sub-freezing temperatures, and driving snowstorms. During their ordeal they resorted to cannibalism and were finally rescued after one of them made it ashore on a crude raft. Included here are contemporary accounts from crew members, offering dramatically different versions of the true-life traumatic event and a fascinating counterpoint to Roberts' fictionalized version. A bestseller when published in 1956, Boon Island is a story of the ways that crisis can inspire the best -- and worst -- in human nature.
An Episode of Sparrows
by Rumer GoddenA much-loved English novel reminiscent of "The Secret Garden" Someone has dug up the private garden in the square and taken buckets of dirt, and Miss Angela Chesney of the Garden Committee is sure that a gang of boys from run-down Catford Street must be to blame. But Angela's sister Olivia isn't so sure. Olivia wonders why the neighborhood children--the "sparrows" she sometimes watches from the window of her house --have to be locked out of the garden. Don't they have a right to enjoy the place, too? But neither Angela nor Olivia has any idea what sent the neighborhood waif Lovejoy Mason and her few friends in search of "good, garden earth. " Still less do they imagine where their investigation of the incident will lead them--to a struggling restaurant, a bombed-out church, and at the heart of it all, a hidden garden.
Grounded: A Journey into the Landscapes of Our Ancestors
by James CantonFrom the author of The Oak Papers comes a beautiful meditation on how to foster a profound and healing spiritual communion with the natural world, exploring how the sacred can be accessed by looking to the past, to our ancestors and how they tread through their worlds.“Canton's writing has an exquisite, somewhat dreamlike quality.”—Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of TreesWhen James Canton walked into Suffolk’s Lindsey Chapel, it was the beginning of what would become a new journey in his life—hours away from the bustling city of London and distant from the years in his early twenties when he traveled from Egypt to Argentina. Standing inside the quaint chapel, Canton realized that his past cosmopolitan desires had been replaced by an intense yearning to understand the history of the place he called home, a burning curiosity about the past and the spiritual ways and beliefs of the people who came before us.In Grounded, Canton retraces his steps into the places where our ancestors have experienced profound emotion, otherwise known as numinous experiences, to help us better understand who we are. Through lyrical meditation, reflection, and a thoughtful consideration of the ways and beliefs of the people who came before us, Canton seeks to know what our ancestors considered to be human, and what lessons we can learn from them to find security in our contemporary selves. Steeped in literary and folklore references, Grounded is a powerful exploration of the power of nature to soothe, nourish, and inspire the human soul.
His Indian Brother
by Hazel WilsonIn the early 1800's, Brad Porter and his father have traveled from boston to the Maine woods to build a cabin for the Porter family. Brad stays to continue preparing the cabin while his father goes back to bring Ma and the twin girls to their new home. But the time for returning passes and brad finds himself alone and in trouble, due to some mishaps such as a bear that eats most of the food, losing his father's rifle, and a broken ankle. He is in danger of starving when some Indians rescue him. One is chief kineowa, and the other is a boy around brad's age, sabattis. When the chief goes to join his tribe, Sabattis stays behind to care for Brad. Still grieving for his family, brad nevertheless finds it exciting to learn to hunt and fish as well as sabattis, whose somewhat contemptuous attitude changes gradually to friendship and respect as the boys share experiences, joys and dangers. Brad and sabattis come to regard themselves as brothers, yet Brad's lost family is still in his heart. Can he become an adopted member of sabattis's tribe, or will something happen to change his plans for a new life with his indian brother? This is a fine book for children, based on the same source material as The Sign of the Beaver, but in my opinion more engaging.
Honey Bunch and Norman Visit Beaver Lodge (Honey Bunch #34)
by Helen Louise ThorndykeHoney Bunch Morton--whose real name is Gertrude Marion Morton, although nobody ever calls her that--is a six-year-old girl off on another adventure with her six-year-old neighbor playmate, Norman Clark.<P>Norman sees a big swimming cat down at Barham Pond and Honey Bunch wants to see it for herself, knowing cats don't like water. Henry, the "Park Custodian" tells the children that the "cat" is actually "Mr. Slapper", a beaver caught by a trapper friend of Henry's. But the friend was moving and couldn't keep the beaver as a pet any more. So the friend gave the beaver to Barham Park. Then Henry tells the children "Beavers like company. We should really have another beaver so that Mr. Slapper would have a playmate."<P>Honey Bunch gets an idea that she and Daddy and Mother and Norman could go on a vacation to a place where there were beavers. Then she might find a playmate to bring back for Mr. Slapper... <P>"Honey Bunch #34", aka "Honey Bunch and Norman #6".<P>"Helen Louise Thorndyke" is a pseudonym of "Harriet S. Adams".
The Lost Wagon
by Jim KjelgaardWhy would a farmer exchange his plowed fields for a wilderness? Why would a husband and father take his family from civilization into an untamed land? In the middle of the last century, thousands of Americans pushed westward into the unknown—and Joe Tower, who had never been fifty miles from his birthplace, was one of them. The Lost Wagon tells the gripping, warmly human story of why he ventured along the Oregon Trail and of how he and his family met its hazards Packed with action and unmistakably genuine in its characters and events, this story of a desperate journey to a promised land is tops for authentic color and real excitement. With its portrayal of the conflicts within a good marriage, the joys and uncertainties of young love, the closeness of a family cut off from the world, The Lost Wagon is a well-rounded, many faceted story. And its honest picture of the fulfillment of one man's dream carries the hope of the promise that has never failed our nation.
Seecatch: A Story of a Fur Seal
by Rutherford MontgomeryThis book tells the story of a young fur seal called Seecatch. He is born on St. Paul Island off the coast of Alaska, where many seals go each year to spend the summer on land, though in other seasons they travel the world, living entirely in water. Seecatch learns about the world, his enemies, and finding food, and each year he returns to his home, until he is large and old enough to find his own spot on the island to start his family.
The World of Bees
by Gilbert NixonAn entomologist presents a beautifully illustrated study of bees, from their behavior to social structures, colonies, and relationship to the environment. In this engaging and scholarly volume, entomologist Gilbert Nixon shares his lifelong fascination with bees. Nixon&’s childhood love of these curious insects led to decades of study as he learned to identify their distinctive markings and pursued the secrets of their mystifying behaviors.The World of Bees offers a comprehensive introduction to various species of bees, including honey bees, bumblebees, and leafcutter bees, as well as information on related insects such as botflies and wasps. With color illustrations by Arthur Smith, this expert volume covers all major topics in melittology, including mating habits, life cycles, pollination, bee dances, and more.
Agricultural Policy: Farm Programs and National Welfare
by Rainer SchickeleThis book is written for the student of rural America, be he farmer, businessman, labor leader, public servant, college student, or instructor, anyone who is curious to understand what problems farmers are facing in their relations to an industrial world, and what the government is doing to help them meet these problems.
Boy Scouts' Explorer Manual
by Boy Scouts of AmericaA Boy Scout manual that provides information about outdoor adventuring, social interactions, community service, and vocational training.