River in Summer

Maury Haraway tracks the course of nature across the seasons of the year and the landscape of North America. Trained as an expert in comparative psychology and animal behavior, and an avid birder for decades, Haraway chronicles the behavior and the adventures of the wild birds and mammals that share our environment, offers unique commentaries on natural history and philosophy, and recalls seasonal experiences of a youth spent in what now seems a much earlier version of America. The account given here of the American outdoors, the life of its plants and animals, and their impact on human experience, is enhanced by Haraway's use of haiku and other forms of poetical expression to complete an artistic vision of reality.