by Margaret Renkl
Reviewed by Linda:
Margaret Renkl, whose column appears weekly in the New York Times, has written a soaring collection of essays about the natural world outside her door in Nashville. She reveals surprises, beauty, and heartache in the lives of creatures from bluebirds to rat snakes. She ties memories of her Alabama childhood seamlessly to her larger observations about the environment. In an era when humans are often cut off from the out-of-doors, Renkl shows us a life joyously lived in close contact with nature.