Reading the Wild
We share the earth with hundreds of thousands of species. All around us, animals are going about their lives, eating, mating, organizing and playing. Even a city part has signs of animal life, if you look closely.It's easy to think of ourselves as the center of all this life, particularly if you live in a city, but man is really part of a network of life on earth. Like all networks, each piece helps to hold together the whole. But we are the one animal with the power and intelligence to protect this sacred circle of life.Reading the Wild, with Bev Doolittle's famously detailed watercolor paintings, gives us clues, from both Indian lore and modern science, to understanding the animal life around us. With a little knowledge and a willingness to pay attention, a walk through the woods, or even a single tree, can become a scavenger hunt for the signs and the wonders of animal life.From a tiny frog that lives above the treeline in the Sierra Nevada, to the great grizzly bear who was associated with healing and medicine by many Native Peoples, Reading the Wild will fill you with wonder and from there it's just a small step to respect for, a preservation of, our wilderness.