I’ve found the antidote to stressing over finding a last-minute gift for your nature-loving friend or family member: “Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts &Pieces of the Natural World” (Julia Rothman) and “The Curious Nature Guide: Exploring the Natural Wonders All Around You” (Clare Walker Leslie), both from Storey Publishing.
Both books feature expressive artworks, both have short text blocks, and both can be enjoyed by adults (particularly those with a creative streak) as well as providing teachable moments with children.
“Nature Anatomy” brings a smile every time I open it. There’s a joyfulness to Rothman’s work — art that doesn’t fall into the scientific illustrations class yet perfect for focusing on the small wonders of nature.
It’s easy to go from dendrochronolgy to Dungeness crab to diamondback terrapin and deserts with Rothman.
Leslie’s “Curious Nature Guide” is a delightful artistic and photographic invitation to take time to go outdoors. Ditch the “I don’t have time” excuse. You have four or five minutes to step outside, look around with intent, engage all of your senses, and reconnect with your surroundings.
She nudges along your curiosity with Try This and Did You Know? sidebars. The facts are sometimes packaged with questions, such as “How does the length of daylight affect you?” We learn that the “Red sky at night, sailors delight …” prediction has versions in the Gospel of Matthew and Shakespeare’s “Venus and Adonis.”
Both books stress that nature belongs in your life, that being aware takes only minutes (or as long as you want), and that it’s worthwhile to reactivate your curiosity gene, should you have misplaced it.
Speaking of getting outside: Deep Forest Experience interpretative walks through old-growth forest are offered at Rockport State Park, just off the North Cascades Highway, west of Rockport. Multiple walks start between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Feb. 15. The walks are 30 to 60 minutes. Stop at the park office, where you can also buy a Discover Pass if you don’t have one. There are also interactive wildlife displays and children’s activities at the Discovery Center. For more information, call 360-853-8461.
Backing and forthing: If the electricity goes out during a storm, we have a stash of canned goods. Many birds have a stash, too, which explains why those chickadees and nuthatches are making so many trips to your feeder, snatching a sunflower seed, and darting away.
A Cornell Ornithology Lab blog explained that they hide the seeds in bark crevices, needle clusters and other locations, perhaps including under the siding of your house. It’s called caching, a hedge against the time when food is scarcer.
According to research papers on the subject, black-capped chickadees can remember the locations for about four weeks, perhaps because their brains’ hippocampi areas (important to spatial memory) is larger compared to other birds.
If there was a seed-caching contest, however, the winner would be the Clark’s nutcrackers, which can hide up to 100,000 seeds a year in thousands of caches.
National Geographic Live! The series of speakers/filmmakers continues into the new year. Don’t dawdle, however, because it’s often sold out. Might make a good gift, too. Speakers include biologists, a paleontologist, a cinematographer and photojournalists.
Coming up: Jan. 24-26, Spinosaurus: Lost Gisant of the Cretaceous; Feb. 21-23, Gorongosa Reborn, A Cameraman’s Journal; March 20-22, Rhinos, Rickshaws &Revolutions; April 10-12, I Bought a Rainforest;
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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