British naturalist Tristan Gooley, known as the "Natural Navigator," takes readers on a fascinating journey of interpreting natural signs in his engaging, informative 10th book, The Hidden Seasons. Focusing on each month in turn, Gooley (How to Read a Tree; The Nature Instinct) highlights small but significant phenomena of flora, fauna, weather, and sky to help readers connect more deeply to, and understand the trends of, the shifting seasons in the temperate northern hemisphere.
"Our job is to decipher the patterns that hide in beauty," Gooley notes, before examining bonfire smoke and explaining how frost maps indicate relative heat. He indicates the major meteor showers in each month and gives handy tips on locating certain constellations and noticing daily shifts in light. As for plants, Gooley goes beyond the basic cycle of bud, leaf, flower, and fruit to describe patterns in different microclimates and the ways plants and animals interact with topography, the weather, and one another.
Although Gooley enjoys sharing nature facts, his instruction ultimately urges readers to get out and experience nature for themselves, piecing together clues to explore and observe the layers of change present in every season. In a clear, straightforward style peppered with mnemonic devices and wry humor, Gooley encourages readers to tune and retune their senses to growth, temperature, and light. Readers walking through the year with Gooley will be inspired to pay more attention to their own environments and the subtle delights of each season. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams