Alone now in his little house on the island the old man imagines the five white birds that fly by daily as his family who have also flown from the nest. Things are seldom what they seem and he is convinced that what, in his mind should be, is. It is well that he does not know, that murder, baby trading, adultery and many of the sins condemned in the Good Book walk with his children as they journey through life.

"In this elegant narrative, celebrated naturalist Ted Floyd guides you through a year of becoming a better birder. Choosing 200 top avian species to teach key lessons, Floyd introduces a new, holistic approach to bird watching and shows how to use the tools of the 21st century to appreciate the natural world we inhabit together whether city, country or suburbs." -- From book jacket.

The “spellbinding tale” of an Alabama family and a troubled teenage orphan: “eloquent evidence that Southern storytelling is indeed a very special art form” (The New York Times Book Review). In the 1940s, Coden, Alabama was a hideaway for movie stars—an isolated playground tucked among live oaks and placid bay waters where pleasure and vice could be indulged. By the summer of 1974 Coden's glamour has faded, but it doesn't bother Mimi Bosarge, who is just happy to have a job as a live-in tutor with the wealthiest family in town, the Hendersons. When the Hendersons generously open their arms to Annie, a troubled teenager with no recollection of her past, Mimi's greatest concern is creating a curriculum for the family's new ward. But it soon becomes obvious that something is wrong. Annie seems suspiciously savvy for her young age, and Mimi can't quell the unnerving sense that there is something malicious about the waiflike beauty.

Describes the author's childhood in an ancient family home with an epileptic older brother whose illness influenced the rhythm of the family's life, in an account that explores such topics as consciousness and the sensory existence of indoor and outdoor life.

A comprehensive overview of New Zealand's natural history, with details of where to go to see them, along with recommended tramping tracks.