Nature on the Doorstep reveals the simple pleasures of paying attention to the natural world in one's own backyard over the course of a year. In weekly letters, Angela Douglas shares the joys and curiosities of a decidedly ordinary patch of green in upstate New York cultivated through the art of "strategic neglect"--sometimes taking a hand to manage wildlife, more often letting nature go its own way.
From the first flowers of spring to cardinals singing in the winter, Douglas shows us the magic of welcoming unexpected plant and animal life into one's backyard. A paean to the richness we find when we stop to look and let be, Nature on the Doorstep celebrates the role humble backyards play both in conservation efforts and in an expanded appreciation of the living world.
Table of Contents:
March 22, 2020: On the horns of a dilemma
March 29, 2020: Spring is coming...
April 5, 2020: Wordsworth's flowers
April 12, 2020: Vultures and rabbits
April 19, 2020: Bloom where you are planted
April 26, 2020: Winter's dregs
May 3, 2020: The English daisy
May 10, 2020: Bud burst!
May 17, 2020: And now it's summer
May 24, 2020: Chipmunks and woodchucks
May 31, 2020: Looking up
June 7, 2020: Natives and aliens
June 14, 2002: Save the bees!
June 21, 2020: A terminological jungle
June 28, 2020: Empires under the maple tree
July 5, 2020: Fireflies: a wonder of the Ithaca world
July 12, 2020: The Deptford pink
July 19, 2020: Blue jay birds and blue jay humans
July 26, 2020: Call my bluff
August 2, 2020: Termite mound or Italian villa?
August 9, 2020: Happy families
August 16, 2020: The orthopteran orchestra
August 23, 2020: Backyard munchers
August 30, 2020: Wasps galore
September 6, 2020: The official end of summer
September 13, 2020: Garden silks
September 20, 2020: Late season flowers
September 27, 2020: The War of the Seasons
October 4, 2020: The backyard harvest
October 11, 2020: Making a living in the backyard
October 18, 2020: The winter birdseed feeder is back in business
October 25, 2020: Fall colors
November 1, 2020: The end of the 2020 orthopteran orchestra
November 8, 2020: Fake news!
November 15, 2020: What's on today's menu?
November 22, 2020: It smells to high heaven
November 29, 2020: Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater
December 6, 2020: Hawk, beware!
December 13, 2020: Life in the leafless trees
December 20, 2020: Nearly a foot of snow
December 27, 2020: Mass Sparrow Attack
January 3, 2021: Celebrating the last day of the year
January 10, 2021: Winter sounds
January 17, 2021: Sparrow Wars
January 24, 2021: The daily red squirrel
January 31, 2021: It is nothing but winter--winter, cold and savage
February 7, 2021: A Miller B nor'easter and a Bumpus event
February 14, 2021: Finding their voice
February 21, 2021: The daily crow commute
February 28, 2021: Periwinkle for tea
March 7, 2021: Snow fleas
March 14, 2021: All change
Nature on the Doorstep brings to life the rarely noticed wonders of a backyard wilderness. Through Angela E. Douglas's keen eyes, we see anew even the most familiar creatures, from crows to crickets. They all have stories to tell, and Douglas's wit and sensitivity make her a delightful interpreter. --Nancy Lawson, author of The Humane Gardener
With these delightful letters about an unexceptional garden that yet teems with life, Douglas shows us how to see the ordinary anew. Even those well-versed in natural history will find something to learn in this book. --Susan Fox Rogers, author of Learning the Birds
Bursting with insight, sensitivity, and warm, wry humor, these letters vividly bring to life the memory of how nature on our doorstep became the inspiration and therapy that kept so many of us going through a global pandemic that plunged each of us into our own tiny world. --Ian Owens, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Angela E. Douglas is Emerita Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Professor Emerita of Insect Physiology and Toxicology at Cornell University. She is the author of several books, including Symbiotic Interactions, Insects and Their Beneficial Microbes, and Fundamentals of Microbiome Science.
Comstock Publishing
Pub Date: March 15, 2023
0.32" H x 8.19" L x 5.2" W
256 Pages
Paperback