Explore the connection between people and places on the rugged shore of Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake.Conor Mihell offers a compelling image of Lake Superior’s Canadian shore through colourful personality sketches, adventure stories, and environmental accounts. Admire the kitschy decor of lighthouse cottager Maureen Robertson, a 76-year-old who spends six months of the year alone on a remote island; enter the debate over a controversial aggregate quarry in Wawa...

Cottage Daze celebrates life at the cottage where the cottage is the main character, and family, friends, pets, and fellow cottagers are the supporting cast. Whether writing about cottage routine ("First Ski," "Of Mice and Men," "Cottage Guests"), cottage tasks ("Splitting Wood," "Boat Launch"), nature ("A Gathering of Loons," "The Sting," "Autumn Spell"), cottage fun ("The Cottage Duel"), or cottage touchstones ("Start the Day," "Bonfire," "The Perfect Storm"), the stories are to...

**This lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth.“Delightful. . . . Gives the reader the richest possible feeling of the worlds the senses take in.” —The New York Times**A Natural History of the Senses is a vibrant celebration of our ability to smel...

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States (font: Wikipedia)

Listen carefully and you will hear cottage country whispering lessons that can make our lives less frenetic, less complicated. The mournful call of the loon, the wind sighing in the trees, the hammering of the pileated woodpecker remind us that we are a part of a more natural world too often lost in our urban societies.Reflections from a still lake and a flickering campfire help us to realize that things might go easier for humankind if more issues were examined in softer, reflecti...

There are an estimated 50 million parrots in the United States today. Their intelligence and extraordinary personalities make them beloved members of the families that bring them into their homes.In Of Parrots and People, award-winning journalist and long-time parrot owner Mira Tweti reveals the complex world of parrots-their astonishing intellect, often-intimate relationships with humans, and, unfortunately, the calamitous practices of the bird industry. Delving into the ...

Featuring essays from some of the area’s most beloved personalities, this exceptional literary anthology celebrates the landscape, culture, community and natural history of Alberta’s Bow Valley.Canmore and Banff are collectively renowned for their mountain culture, diverse wildlife and scenes of breathtaking natural splendour. These vibrant mountain communities are also home to exceptional adventurers, artists, thinkers and writers. For the first time, some of the area’s b...

More tales of family fun and run-ins with nature at the cottage.In the sequel to Cottage Daze, James Ross is back with more tales from the family cottage. Organized by nature’s changing seasons and containing sections covering nature, family, activity, and the cottage, Ross combines wry humour with a genuine love for adventure and respect for the natural world — although the local wild animal population can try his patience.Ross’s anecdotes are full of good spirits...

Collected here are nineteen essays by Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was one of America's best known and most influential writers. His work has helped shape the American Discourse and had a lasting effect on the environmental movement in America. Included here are The Service, A Walk to Wachusett, Paradise (to be) Regained, The Landlord, Herald of Freedom, Wendell Phillips Before the Concord Lyceum, Reform and the Reformers, Thomas Carlyle and His Works, Civil Disobedience, Slavery in Massac...

Quietly powerful essays, weaving keenly observed insights into the mysteries of nature with those of family and community“It’s not easy,” Catherine Reid writes, “to love a person and a place in equal measure.” Love she does, however, as described in these intimate, lyric essays about the land and people around her. With the inside perspective of a native daughter combined with her outsider status as a lesbian, Reid explores such paradoxes as those that arise from h...

Contained within this book is a collection of essays, field notes, and diary excerpts from numerous naturalists relating to British country life in Autumn and Winter. These fascinating and highly-readable articles will appeal to those with an interest in the British countryside and naturalism in general. Contents include: "Open-air Diary for October", "Open-air Diary for November", "Open-air Diary for December", "Open-air Diary for January", "Open-air Diary for February", "Open-air Diary f...

The Creaky Knees Guide Arizona is a hiking guidebook filled with kinder, gentler trails. Here are 80 of the best easy-to-walk hikes throughout the state.Created for anyone who--regardless of age--can't or doesn't want to hike great distances over rough terrain to gain beautiful vistas and enjoy the wilderness. Most are day hikes, but there are a handful of backpack trips worthy of theCreaky Knees stamp of approval.Trails are divided into regions: G...