Wednesday, August 24, 2005

A Place Between the Tides: A Naturalist's Reflection on the Salt Marsh by Harry Thurston

Harry Thurston lives on the edge of a salt marsh in Nova Scotia. As a naturalist, he spends many hours watching the marsh from his window and wandering through it when the weather allows, noting the activity of its animal life. Using his journals, he has been able to identify seasonal patterns. He knows when the ice will break, when the alewives will run, and when to look for the resident foxes to leave their den. Still, he is surprised when storms bring in European birds or when a dam breaks and floods the marsh. In A Place Between the Tides, the reader learns through Thurston’s stories much about birds, fish, mammals, and people that inhabit an essential border environment. This is good reading for any season, but I think autumn, when all the leaves are falling and life slows down, might be best.

Thurston, Harry. A Place Between the Tides: A Naturalist's Reflections on the Salt Marsh. Greystone Books, 2004. ISBN 1553650352

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