Appalachian Winter - (Regional) by Marcia Bonta (Paperback)

About the Book

A Charming Chronicle of Shifting Weather and Winter Wildlife Brings Warmth to the Coldest Months of the Year

Book Synopsis

Winter is the season that most tests our mettle. There are the obvious challenges of the weather-freezing rain, wind chill, deep snow, dangerous ice-but also the psychological burdens of waiting for spring and the enduring often false starts that accompany its eventual return. On the surface, perhaps, winter might seem an odd season for a nature book, but there is plenty of beauty and life in the woods if only we know where to look. The stark, white landscape sparkles in the sunshine and glows beneath the moon on crisp, clear nights; the opening up of the forest makes it easy to see long distances; birds, some of which can be easily seen only in winter, flock to feeders; and animals-even those that should be hibernating-make surprise visits from time to time. Appalachian Winter offers acclaimed naturalist Marcia Bonta's view of one season, as experienced on and around her 650-acre home on the westernmost ridge of the hill-and-valley landscape that dominates central Pennsylvania. Written in the style of a journal, each day's entry focuses on her walks and rambles through the woods and fields that she has known and loved for over thirty years. Along the way she discovers a long-eared owl in a dense stand of conifers, tracks a bear through an early December snowfall, explains the life and ecological niche of the red-backed vole, and examines the recent arrival of an Asian ladybug. These are but a few of the tidbits sprinkled throughout the book, interwoven with the human stories of Bonta's family, as well as the highway builders and shopping-mall developers that threaten the idyllic peacefulness of her mountain. This is the fourth and final volume of Bonta's seasonal meditations on the natural history of the northern Appalachian Mountains. Her gentle, charming accounts of changing weather and of the struggles faced by plants, animals, and insects breathe new warmth into the coldest months of the year.

Review Quotes

An illuminating read sure to inspire you to venture out into the snowy woods for some exploration of your own.-- "Game News"

Erudite and inviting, Bonta's books are like spending time with a good friend who just happens to know just about everything about the natural world around her.-- "Pittsburgh Magazine"

If you enjoy winter and nature, this is a great book. If you like nature but not winter, it still might be a great book because Bonta shows that winter is not lacking in natural delights.-- "Lancaster Sunday News"

Marcia Bonta is a diligent, broad-ranging naturalist whose love for the Appalachians shines through on every page of this delightful book.-- "Charles Fergus"

Not since Edwin Way Teale's Journeys Through the Four American Seasons has a seasonal series been so compelling. Marcia Bonta is a gifted naturalist and remarkable writer who makes our most maligned northern months come alive with beauty and freshness in Appalachian Winter.-- "Gregg Rinkus"

About the Author

Marcia Bonta is a freelance nature writer and the author of, in addition to her Appalachian seasons books, Outbound Journeys in Pennsylvania, More Outbound Journeys in Pennsylvania, Women in the Field, and Escape to the Mountain, and the editor of American Women Afield. She has written more than three hundred magazine articles for publications such as Birder's World, Bird Watcher's Digest, Living Bird, and Hawk Mountain News. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, and she is a popular lecturer on nature and nature writing.