In the steamy heat of July, when my own neighborhood has seen flames and persistent smoke, and there’s no rain in sight, I go early, early into the National Forest to hear birdsong:

Sailor-like honks of the white-breasted nuthatch, fervent melodies of finches, kew-kew-ing of the northern flicker, spirited dee-dee-dee of the chickadee, and hummingbirds thrumming above —— and the sharp trills of a constellation of house wrens!

My mind humming with the calls and songs of birds, which I experience like a musical benediction, I would like to announce my new book:

Would be glad to know your thoughts on the cover.

I was in conversation with the wonderful John Hausdoerffer for Warwick’s, the oldest bookstore in America. Bookstore owners and employees are some of the most wonderful people I know. In the backdrop you might see a floral-and-apple arrangement gifted to me by a lovely reader. Oh, the scent of green apples in the summer!