To the Field Through Backyards is a series of essays with poetry and photographs that depict a not so long ago era in a farming community. The book is an account of the experiences of one family that lived and worked in the southeastern North Carolina community of Leggett. It is also a reflection of life as it was lived by a majority of rural residents of North Carolina and most of the South during the first half of the 20th century. The essays permit the current younger generation a glimpse of a life that is now obsolete.

Thalia Field’s third book with New Directions is a tour de force of blending literary genres (poetry, prose, essay, and drama) and examining our control of the natural world. Bird Lovers, Backyard continues Thalia Field’s interrogation of the act of storytelling and her experimentation with literary genre. Field’s illuminating essays, or stories, in poetic form, place scientists, philosophers, animals, even the military, in real and imagined events. Her open questioning brings in subjects as diverse as pigeons, chat rooms, nuclear testing, the building of the Kennedy Space Center, the development of seaside beaches, Konrad Lorenz, the American author and animal trainer Vicki Hearne, and the Swiss zoologist Heini Hediger. Throughout, she intermingles fact and fiction, probing the porous boundaries between human and animal, calling into question “what we are willing to do with words,” and spinning a world where life is haunted by echoes. Story and event survive through daring language, and the elegies of history.

When their usual soccer field cannot be used for the big tournament, the members of The Lightning use hard work--and teamwork--to fix up another field so that the tournament can go on.

Describes the physical characteristics, behavior, voices, and habitats of a variety of common birds, arranged by their color. Includes the Peterson System of identifying birds by their unique markings.

You don't have to be an experienced birder to enjoy this guide! With hundreds of illustrations and a user-friendly format, you'll soon be spotting and identifying birds in your locale in no time. The updated text highlights the latest trends in birding and the most up-to-date ornithological information. -- adapted from back cover

A lyrical field guide to the natural world surrounding the eastern U.S.'s residential areas profiles a wide variety of plant, animal, and insect life, in a reference that offers insight into birdfeeder behaviors, woodpile ecology, and more.

Every common breed of chicken, organized into one information-packed guide. Fueled by the local and organic food movements, as well as a sea change in local ordinances, backyard chicken keeping is booming. Anyone who's decided to join the new wave of chicken keepers knows that the poultry breeds available are dizzying in their variety. Calm your anxiety with this book--a guide for backyard chicken keepers in search of chickens that best fit their needs. Each breed of chicken listed in the field guide is thoroughly described and is illustrated by color photos. The book tells you all about the bird, detailing each breed's particular usefulness, adaptation to climate, coloration, number of eggs typically laid, foraging ability, temperament, and unique qualities. There are fun facts about varieties of chickens, as well as information about color and comb varieties, rare breeds, classification, and hybrids.