Science and Math
Get this handy guide to caterpillars found throughout North America, and learn how to identify them.
The metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly or moth is one of nature's most amazing wonders. While their transformations into winged pollinators tend to get much of the attention, caterpillars are fascinating and beautiful. Anyone who wants butterflies in their backyard or garden should hope for caterpillars too!
If you see caterpillars in your area, keep this convenient guide close at hand. Designed for ease of use, the booklet is organized by butterfly or moth, then by family. Narrow your choices based on a caterpillar's physical characteristics, and view just a few species at a time to ID the insect--and see what kind of butterfly or moth it becomes. The professional photographs showcase 90 species. You'll also appreciate bonus information, such as caterpillar anatomy and why butterflies and moths are important. Written by acclaimed author and expert entomologist Jaret C. Daniels, Caterpillars of North America presents the most common and important species to know.
Book Features
Improve your identification skills and learn more about caterpillars and the butterflies and moths they become, with this lightweight quick guide.
Get this handy booklet to common bees (and their look-alikes) of the western USA, and learn how to identify them.
Bees are beloved garden visitors and are essential to a healthy ecosystem. We welcome their arrival and celebrate their vital work as pollinators, supporting the growth of flowers, plants, and trees. If you see bees in your area, keep this convenient guide close at hand. Designed for ease of use, the booklet is organized by group for quick identification. Narrow your choices by group, and view just a few bees at a time. The professional photographs showcase more than 170 species--including bee look-alikes, such as beetles, flies, and moths. Written by debut author Ryan Bartlett, founder of the educational organization Colorado Native Bee, Common Native Bees of the Western United States features species found west of the 100th meridian (from western North Dakota down to western Texas and all the way to the Pacific Ocean).
Book Features
Improve your identification skills and learn to make your backyard or garden a welcome place for bees, with this lightweight quick guide.
Learn to tie 21 knots for the outdoors and everyday life!
You never know when you'll need just the right knot. Maybe you want to haul something atop your car. Perhaps you have to stake a tree or tether your dog. From tying a kite string to mooring a boat, Essential Knots has you covered. This pocket-sized booklet contains 21 versatile knots for getting things done at the campsite, on the dock, and at home. Author Karen Berger provides easy-to-follow instructions--supplemented by full-color, step-by-step illustrations--to help you quickly and correctly tie the knots you need. With this guide in hand, you'll always know which knots to use and when, even if you're a beginner. It's conveniently sized to keep in your glove box, backpack, back pocket, or desk drawer, so it's always there when you need it. Get Essential Knots and find a handy spot for it. You'll be surprised how often you use it.
Learn to identify, collect, and prepare wild edibles!
Step into your backyard, garden, or nearby green space, and harvest an abundance of free, nutritious, and organic greens, tubers, and fruits. Foraging in North America introduces you to 12 widely accessible wild plants that can be gathered safely. Compared to cultivated garden plants, these wild edibles require no care, are hardier, and are amazing sources of nutrients.
Throughout much of our history, wild plants were the mainstay of human diets. They were rich in micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals that nurtured good health and strong immune systems. Foraging in North America is a simple guide that introduces readers to those foods--including such overlooked superfoods as dandelions, lambs quarters, and nettles. Learn how to find and identify those wild edibles and more, while avoiding toxic or inedible look-alikes. Expert forager Tom Anderson also shares tips on best practices for collecting and even some ideas on how to prepare your finds for the table, based on 30 years of experience. The easy-to-use information is accessible for everyone from beginners to experts.
Foraging is also an excellent family activity. It helps children to learn about the natural world while simultaneously giving them the satisfaction of contributing to the household. Bring this photo-illustrated quick guide on your next outing. Its pocket-sized format makes it easy to tuck into a daypack, camping cook kit, or glove compartment.
Manage hiking, camping, backpacking, and outdoor emergencies
There's never a good place for a medical emergency, but some locations are much worse than others. If you are out in nature, far from help, when the unthinkable happens, you must be prepared. Outdoor Medicine is your handy, portable, easy-to-understand guide that helps you to follow the correct course of action. Whether it's illness, injury, or life-or-death conditions, author Patrick Brighton, M.D., FACS, is there to lend his experience in assessing and managing backcountry emergencies. The author's expertise--as a board-certified trauma surgeon and a mountaineer, climber, kayaker, and member of a mountain rescue team--has allowed him to develop concise descriptions of the diagnosis, treatment options, and evacuation strategies for several common medical emergencies.
This tabbed booklet is organized by type of injury, so you can quickly reference the information you need to evaluate and treat the condition. There's no need to wade through time-consuming data that you won't use. The easily digestible instructions help you to assess the situation and decide how to proceed, with tips on what to do and what not to do. The guide also takes into consideration the variable challenges you might face: limited resources, weather, victim/rescuer capabilities, and evacuation options.
With strategies based on the latest research from the American College of Surgeons, the American Heart Association, and Dr. Brighton's decades of experience, you can be certain that you're getting the best advice available. So get this pocket-sized guide to outdoor medicine, and hope that you never have to use it--but take comfort in knowing that it's there if you do.
Learn how to identify spiders found across the United States and Canada with this handy quick guide.
Some people love them, while others fear them. One thing is certain: spiders play an essential part of a healthy ecosystem. They are key predators of insect pests--like fleas and mosquitoes--and they serve as prey for beloved animals, such as birds. If you see spiders in your area, keep this convenient guide close at hand. Designed for ease of use, the spiral-bound booklet is organized by type of spider web for quick identification. Narrow your choices by the web you see, and view just a few spiders at a time. Plus, you'll also find sections for spiders that don't utilize webs. The professional photographs showcase 158 species. Written by debut author Dr. Sebastian Alejandro Echeverri--co-host of the BBC Earth Podcast--the Spiders of the United States & Canada guide features the most common and important species to know.
Book Features
Improve your identification skills and learn more about spiders and their webs, with this lightweight quick guide.
Winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award * 2022 Nautilus Book Awards Gold Winner * Shortlisted for the John Burroughs Medal * Finalist for the Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize * Shortlisted for a Reading the West Book Award
Instant New York Times Bestseller * A Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Year * 2021 Summer Reading Pick by Buzzfeed * New York Times Book Review * Kirkus * Time * Good Morning America * People * Washington Post
"The book everyone will be talking about. . . . Full of tenderness and understanding."--New York Times
An "extraordinary" (Oprah Daily) memoir about the friendship between a solitary woman and a wild fox.
When Catherine Raven finished her PhD in biology, she built herself a tiny cottage on an isolated plot of land in Montana. She was as emotionally isolated as she was physically, but she viewed the house as a way station, a temporary rest stop where she could gather her nerves and fill out applications for what she hoped would be a real job that would help her fit into society. In the meantime, she taught remotely and led field classes in nearby Yellowstone National Park.
Then one day she realized that a mangy-looking fox was showing up on her property every afternoon at 4:15 p.m. She had never had a regular visitor before. How do you even talk to a fox? She brought out her camping chair, sat as close to him as she dared, and began reading to him from The Little Prince. Her scientific training had taught her not to anthropomorphize animals, yet as she grew to know him, his personality revealed itself and they became friends.
From the fox, Catherine learned the single most important thing about loneliness: we are never alone when we are connected to the natural world. Friends, however, cannot save each other from the uncontained forces of nature.
Fox and I is a poignant and remarkable tale of friendship, growth, and coping with inevitable loss--and of how that loss can be transformed into meaning. It is both a timely tale of solitude and belonging as well as a timeless story of one woman whose immersion in the natural world will change the way we view our surroundings--each tree, weed, flower, stone, or fox.
Take rock collecting to the next level: create gemstones that glisten and shine with beginner instructions that yield professional results.
Beautifully cut, polished, and shaped gemstones are marvelous treasures. They can be very expensive to purchase, but have you ever wondered how to create your own? You might be surprised at how quickly you can learn to do it--and how affordable it is, especially when compared with many other popular hobbies. From Rough Stones to Wow is your one-stop shop for beginning your lapidary journey and being successful.
Written by Jim Magnuson, this accessible how-to guide keeps things simple while covering a variety of the most popular lapidary arts. The step-by-step instructions--supplemented by easy-to-follow, full-color photographs--can help you produce high-quality gemstone products that you'll be proud to display, wear, or even sell. Learn about the tools and equipment needed, as well as types of rocks and minerals you might want to utilize. Then, with Jim's focused instruction, you can discover the rewarding experience of taking rough stones and making your own creations. There's even a brief introduction to jewelry making, with six simple jewelry projects.
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