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The ultimate guide to nature drawing and journaling! A potent
combination of art, science, and boundless enthusiasm, this art
instruction book from John Muir Laws (author of The Laws Guide to
Drawing Birds) is a how-to guide for becoming a better artist and a
more attentive naturalist. In straightforward text complemented by
step-by-step illustrations, dozens of exercises lead the hand and
mind through creating accurate reproductions of plants and animals
as well as landscapes, skies, and more. Laws provides clear,
practical advice for every step of the process for artists at every
level, from the basics of choosing supplies to advanced techniques.
While the book's advice will improve the skills of already
accomplished artists, the emphasis on seeing, learning, and feeling
will make this book valuable-even revelatory-to anyone interested
in the natural world, no matter how rudimentary their artistic
abilities.
This is the first complete English translation of a lively
travelogue written by Andronikos aka Nikandros Noukios, a Greek
from Corfu, who accompanied a diplomatic mission from Venice to
England in the middle of the sixteenth century. He describes some
of the great northern Italian cities, gives vivid impressions of
picturesque Germany, of sober but enthusiastic Lutheran church
services, and of cities on the Rhine. In the Low Countries he
visits the commercial centres and in England gives a real sense of
the excitement of London and its sights. He rather liked the
English (even giving a recipe for beer), and is clearly fascinated
by Henry VIII, his attacks on the monasteries and his break with
Rome. He then surprisingly joins up with a troop of Greek
mercenaries, but finally leaves them and returns to Italy through
France with glimpses of Fontainebleau and Francis I. We leave
Andronikos after he has visited Rome on his way back to Venice. The
book is an almost unknown source for the sixteenth century and will
certainly be of interest to historians and students. It is also an
important and little-known landmark in the development of Modern
Greek literature, especially relevant to the burgeoning modern
interest in travel writing. It is accessible and a good read.
John Muir Laws’s guide to drawing birds is itself winged, soaring
between a devotion not only to art but also to the lives, forms,
and postures of the birds themselves. Here, artistic technique and
the exquisite details of natural history intertwine, and drawing
becomes the vehicle for seeing. As Laws writes, "To draw feathers,
you must understand how feathers grow, overlap, and insert into the
body. To create the body, you must have an understanding of the
bird’s skeletal structure. To pose this skeleton, you must be
able to perceive the energy, intention, and life of the bird." This
how-to guide will perfect the technique of serious artists but
also, perhaps more importantly, it will provide guidance for those
who insist they can’t draw. Leading the mind and hand through a
series of detailed exercises, Laws delivers what he promises: that
"drawing birds opens you to the beauty of the world." An Audubon
Book.
An all-access guide to the abundant natural splendor of Sonoma
County Wild Sonoma celebrates the spectacular and resilient natural
landscapes of Sonoma County, which along with its neighboring
counties is one of the world's premier winegrowing regions. Our
exploration launches with an entertaining primer on ecology basics,
including the impact of fire, before a fun fact-filled survey of
sixty-two of the area's iconic and commonly encountered
species-from vivacious acorn woodpeckers to disease-neutralizing
Western fence lizards. It caps off with a tour of six sites to
experience Sonoma's diverse natural beauty, with a special emphasis
on access. Written by Wild LA author Charles Hood, introduced by
renowned naturalist Jane Goodall, and illustrated by John Muir
Laws, Wild Sonoma offers residents and tourists from eight to
eighty a sense of wonder and cause for hope.
The perfect companion for the urban sightseer, Walking Cape Town features 33 easy walks and drives through the streets and suburbs of one of the world’s most beautiful and popular cities. From the Company’s Garden in the heart of the city to trendy Green Point, Sea Point and Camps Bay, the colourful Bo-Kaap, and the bustling seaside villages of Muizenberg, Kalk Bay and Simon’s Town, this comprehensive guide reveals the fascinating history and urban charm that has made Cape Town one of the top destinations in the world.
John Muir, an expert on Cape Town and its hidden gems, provides a wealth of information on all that can be discovered en route: the city’s colonial past, Victorian and contemporary architecture, museums and monuments, churches and mosques, parks and gardens, and rivers and wetlands.
Fully illustrated with more than 250 photographs, this extensive guide also includes: easy-to-follow directions and full-colour illustrated maps; essential information on walking and driving distances, terrain,level of difficulty, opening times and contact details; suggestions for restaurants, pubs and coffee shops along the way; fact panels on the city’s iconic landmarks and famous residents.
For locals and visitors wanting to discover more about the city’s rich heritage, Walking Cape Town is an indispensable guide.
This is the first complete English translation of a lively
travelogue written by Andronikos aka Nikandros Noukios, a Greek
from Corfu, who accompanied a diplomatic mission from Venice to
England in the middle of the sixteenth century. He describes some
of the great northern Italian cities, gives vivid impressions of
picturesque Germany, of sober but enthusiastic Lutheran church
services, and of cities on the Rhine. In the Low Countries he
visits the commercial centres and in England gives a real sense of
the excitement of London and its sights. He rather liked the
English (even giving a recipe for beer), and is clearly fascinated
by Henry VIII, his attacks on the monasteries and his break with
Rome. He then surprisingly joins up with a troop of Greek
mercenaries, but finally leaves them and returns to Italy through
France with glimpses of Fontainebleau and Francis I. We leave
Andronikos after he has visited Rome on his way back to Venice. The
book is an almost unknown source for the sixteenth century and will
certainly be of interest to historians and students. It is also an
important and little-known landmark in the development of Modern
Greek literature, especially relevant to the burgeoning modern
interest in travel writing. It is accessible and a good read.
Your ideal companion for observing and exploring the natural world!
Designed to the last detail by the “modern Audubon” John (Jack)
Muir Laws, The Laws Sketchbook for Nature Journaling is the perfect
starting point for anyone interested in the practice and joy of
getting out, observing, and recording nature. Sturdy covers and a
lay-flat sewn binding make field sketching easy, and artists of all
levels will appreciate the eighty blank pages of high quality paper
suitable for pen, pencil, and light washes. In addition, this
journal includes tips, techniques, and advice from master nature
journalist and teacher Jack Laws. Reference illustrations to solve
common nature-drawing problems, tools for measuring and quantifying
observations, and a grommet-secured elastic band that holds
everything tight at the end of the day make this sketchbook an
essential tool when out in the field.
From the first 'deadly signs' scratched on a wooden tablet
instructing the recipient to kill the one who delivered it, to the
letters of St Paul to the early Church, this book examines the
range of letter writing in the Ancient Greek world. Containing
extensive translated examples from both life and fiction, it
provides a glimpse into the lives of both ordinary people and
political life. This comprehensive study looks at personal and
private letters, letters used in administration and government,
letters used as vehicles for the dissemination of philosophy and
religion, and letters which played a part in the development of
several literary genres. The way in which letters were written and
with what materials, how they were delivered, and how it is that,
for certain limited periods and locations, so many of them have
survived and how they were re-discovered. By placing these letters
in their social, political and intellectual contexts, Life and
Letters in the Ancient Greek World draws attention to both familiar
topics, such as young soldiers writing home from basic training and
the choice of flowers for a wedding, and more alien events, such as
getting rid of baby girls and offhand attitudes to bereavement.
This first guide in English to provide commentary on such a broad
range of letters, will be essential reading for anyone interested
in the Ancient Greek World.
From the first 'deadly signs' scratched on a wooden tablet
instructing the recipient to kill the one who delivered it, to the
letters of St Paul to the early Church, this book examines the
range of letter writing in the Ancient Greek world. Containing
extensive translated examples from both life and fiction, it
provides a glimpse into the lives of both ordinary people and
political life. This comprehensive study looks at personal and
private letters, letters used in administration and government,
letters used as vehicles for the dissemination of philosophy and
religion, and letters which played a part in the development of
several literary genres. The way in which letters were written and
with what materials, how they were delivered, and how it is that,
for certain limited periods and locations, so many of them have
survived and how they were re-discovered. By placing these letters
in their social, political and intellectual contexts, Life and
Letters in the Ancient Greek World draws attention to both familiar
topics, such as young soldiers writing home from basic training and
the choice of flowers for a wedding, and more alien events, such as
getting rid of baby girls and offhand attitudes to bereavement.
This first guide in English to provide commentary on such a broad
range of letters, will be essential reading for anyone interested
in the Ancient Greek World.
'When I was a child in Scotland, I was fond of everything that was
wild, and all my life I've been growing fonder and fonder of wild
places and wild creatures.' John Muir was eleven when he and his
family left Scotland in 1849 to build a new life on a homestead in
the vast wilderness of Wisconsin. Written in simple yet beautiful
prose, we see Muir's delight as he discovers and observes the
landscape and wildlife around him, as he recalls his childhood and
reveals himself as a master of natural description.
The first-ever comprehensive book devoted to helping educators use
nature journaling as an inspiring teaching tool to engage young
people with wild places. In their workshops, John Muir Laws and
Emilie Lygren are often asked the how-tos of teaching nature
journaling: how to manage student groups in the outdoors, teach
drawing skills (especially from those who profess to have none),
connect journaling to educational standards, and incorporate
journaling into longer lessons. This book, expanding on the
philosophy and methods of The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and
Journaling puts together curriculum plans, advice, and in-the-field
experience so that educators of all stripes can leap into
journaling with their students. The approaches are designed to work
in a range of ecosystems and settings, and are suitable for
classroom teachers, outdoor educators, camp counselors, and
homeschooling parents. Full-color illustrations and sample journal
pages from notable naturalists show how to put each lesson into
practice. Field-tested by over a hundred educators, this book
includes dozens of activities that easily support the Common Core
and the Next Generation Science Standards—and, just as important,
it will show kids and mentors alike how to recognize the wonder and
intrigue in their midst.
'When a man plants a tree, he plants himself. Every root is an
anchor, over which he rests with grateful interest, and becomes
sufficiently calm to feel the joy of living.' Steep Trails
encompasses a delightful mix of John Muir's essays and adventure
narratives, spanning a period of twenty-nine years. The selections
included in this book are varied: ranging from geological studies
to stories of the people and towns he encounters throughout his
exploits. As Muir expert Terry Gifford observes in the foreword,
'Most of Steep Trails' chapters are dispatches from Muir as
travelling correspondent with a mixture of insights into local
cultures, criticism of pollution and enthusiasm for everything
wild.' Muir's refreshing philosophy of being 'at one' with nature
shines through every account he details, as does his agenda for
environmental activism - to treat wildness lovingly, rather than
selfishly for material greed. Covering mostly the western regions
of the states, California, Washington, Nevada, The Grand Canyon,
Oregon and Utah; Steep Trails showcases Muir's passion continuously
as he climbs mountains, bathes in lakes, and sketches his findings.
Muir's classic extended metaphors and knowledgeable tone are
present throughout, making for both an enjoyable and educational
read. The enthusiasm contained within these pages is infectious,
and as well as simply describing the beauty he sees, Muir will
inspire you too, to 'go and see for yourselves' the rewards of
studying the endless gift of nature: 'Surely faithful and loving
skill can go no farther in putting the multitudinous decorated
forms on paper. But the colours, the living, rejoicing colours,
chanting morning and evening in chorus to heaven! Whose brush or
pencil, however lovingly inspired, can give us these? And if paint
is of no effect, what hope lies in pen-work? Only this: some may be
incited by it to go and see for themselves.'
`Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away … God has cared
for these trees … but he cannot save them from fools – only
Uncle Sam can do that.’ First published in 1901, Our National
Parks is possibly the bestselling book of Muir’s
wilderness-discovery titles and was certainly the most influential
published in his lifetime, with a strong focus on the preservation
of forest reserves. With a strong political tone and shrewd, subtle
manoeuvring, Muir uses Our National Parks to persuade his
readership of the necessity of nature and national parks for human
recreation and more importantly for health and wellbeing, as well
as the – in his mind – obvious need for preservation of wild
ecosystems. Cannily he counterbalances this with the
acknowledgement of the need for timber and irrigation systems, in
order that his message is taken seriously; Muir’s passion is
portrayed so vividly and flamboyantly that without his learned
political and scientific reinforcement, he could be misconstrued as
purely a radical and eccentric nonconformist. However, the two
combined result in an engaging and convincing argument that these
landscapes are our `natural home’, and `fountains of life’. As
Muir expert Terry Gifford observes in the foreword, `Muir’s tone
can shift in this book from seductive persuasion, to charming
details of creatures, flora and landscapes, to scientific
information, to trail guide, to religious uplift, to a final
political speech of startling ferocity.’ John Muir’s strategic
yet genuine and beautiful conservationist essays were a first at
the time of publication, and are still highly applicable to our
attitudes and lifestyles today in the twenty-first century.
'How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! To behold
this alone is worth the pains of any excursion a thousand times
over.' John Muir is known internationally for his dedication to
protecting the environment and for founding The Sierra Club in
1892. His first book, as Muir authority Terry Gifford writes in the
foreword, 'became the bible of the fledgling Sierra Club, which is
now a major national environmental activists' organisation with
branches in every corner of America'. The Mountains of California
not only details Muir's visits to the magnificent mountains along
the Sierra Nevada Range, which he affectionately calls 'The Range
of Light', but also the stunning glaciers, forests and landscapes
that he encounters: 'Climbing higher, I saw for the first time the
gradual dwarfing of the pines in compliance with climate ...
patches of the dwarf vaccinium with its round flowers sprinkled in
the grass like purple hail; while in every direction the landscape
stretched sublimely away in fresh wildness: a manuscript written by
the hand of nature alone.' Throughout the book, Muir's philosophy
of nature's ability to soothe and amaze is evident. He
heart-warmingly discusses at length how his encounters with
animals, such as the Douglas squirrel, cheered him so. This is a
truly beautiful read; Muir's writing, embedded with emotion, wit,
and at times, humour, will never fail to speak to his reader. The
enthusiasm contained within these pages is infectious, and as well
as making a powerful read, Muir will inspire you, too, to 'come and
see' the innumerable delights that nature can offer: 'The best
words only hint at [California's] charms. Come to the mountains and
see.'
The great explorer and environmentalist, John Muir, first met the little dog Stickeen while exploring in Alaska. This is the true story of their challenging and memorable adventure climbing the glaciers of the north country, as re-told by former teacher and former lawyer, Donnell Rubay, and illustrated by award-winning illustrator Christopher Canyon.
`All these colours, from the blue sky to the yellow valley smoothly
blending as they do in a rainbow, making a wall of light ineffably
fine.’ Having spent significant time obsessively exploring and
learning about the Sierra, John Muir’s passion for and belief in
preserving the wilderness steadily grew. He believed that excessive
grazing and logging would result in its eventual destruction, and
so campaigned to designate the area as a protected national park.
In 1890, the US Congress passed the National Park Bill, and the
Yosemite and Sequoia national parks were established. At the time
of writing, Muir’s views on conservation of the wilderness were
totally radical; today, environmental activists are too often
brushed aside in favour of something faster, easier, and cheaper.
Muir not only educates us in the particulars of the botanicals of
this spectacular landscape, but also inadvertently traps us in his
web of enthusiasm for the beauty and significance of Mother Nature.
The Yosemite gives us the tools to construct a detailed mental map
of the Sierra, and leaves us with the resolution to be more
compassionate and environmentally mindful. First published in 1912,
and with a new introduction from Muir authority Terry Gifford, the
message in The Yosemite is perhaps more pertinent now than it ever
was. There is a lot to thank Muir for, not least opening our eyes
to the earth beneath our feet.
The Story of My Boyhood and Youth; A Thousand Mile Walk to the
Gulf; My First Summer in the Sierra; The Mountains of California;
Our National Parks; and more.
'Divine beauty all. Here I could stay tethered forever with just
bread and water, nor would I be lonely.' In the summer of 1869,
John Muir joined a group of shepherds in the foothills of
California's Sierra Nevada mountains, that he might study and
expand his knowledge of the plants, animals and rocks he found
there. My First Summer in the Sierra - first published in 1911 - is
the detailed and colourful diary he kept while tending sheep and
exploring the wilderness. Muir's account tracks his experiences in
the Yosemite Valley and the High Sierra alongside faithful
companion Carlo the St Bernard, describing the majestic landscapes
and the flora and fauna of the area with the excitement and wonder
of a child. From sleeping on silver-fir-bough mattresses to goading
wild bears, and valuing everything from tiny pebbles to giant
sequoia, he truly immerses himself and falls in love with the
wilderness. Muir's enthusiasm is infectious, and over 100 years on
his environmental message is more pertinent than ever. With a new
introduction from Muir authority Terry Gifford, My First Summer in
the Sierra is an enchanting and informative read for anyone
passionate about the natural world and its splendours.
'Many a beautiful plant cultivated to deformity, and arranged in
strict geometrical beds, the whole pretty affair a laborious
failure side by side with divine beauty.' A Thousand-Mile Walk to
the Gulf is the second book in John Muir's Wilderness-Discovery
series. It is within this work that we are really given strong
clues toward Muir's future trailblazing movement for environmental
conservation, in such comments as 'The universe would be incomplete
without man; but it would also be incomplete without the smallest
transmicroscopic creature that dwells beyond our conceitful eyes
and knowledge.' Muir's walk from Indiana to Florida was conceived
in order to explore and study further the flora and fauna across
states. He undertakes this alone, a dangerous choice perhaps so
soon after the civil war, as many characters along the way
forewarn. Indeed, Muir is threatened by a robber, and we see a new
side to the quiet, lowly gentleman we know as he springs into
self-defence mode with lightning initiative and remarkable courage.
This is not the only facet of Muir's personality that is uncovered
throughout this journey. He makes reference to feeling 'dreadfully
lonesome and poor', which is intriguing as his circumstances are
self-sought: 'Stayed with lots of different people but preferred
sleeping outside alone where possible'. He spends a substantial
period of time struck down with malaria, which does not come as a
surprise; he was covering many miles on an unsustainably meagre
diet with thirst often quenched with swamp water or not at all.
Join Muir in Kentucky forests, Cumberland mountains, Florida swamps
and all the elegantly described trees, plants, creatures and rocks
in-between. A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf teaches us as much
about Muir himself as it does the ecosystems in the wilderness
across those 1,000 miles.
The Story of my Boyhood and Youth is the affecting memoir of the
now internationally renowned John Muir, a Scottish-American boy
subject to a most unusual upbringing, his transition into
adulthood, and the path that led him to petition for the concept of
protected national parks. Born in East Lothian, Scotland in 1838,
Muir was raised by a fanatically strict, religious father with his
numerous brothers and sisters and loving mother. From an early age,
a shy Muir showed fascination with the natural world, and at aged
eleven, his father announced the family were to move to an American
wilderness in Wisconsin - Muir had a new playground. His
adolescence is spent labouring on the family's grassroots farm.
Working seventeen-hour days, an exhausted yet inquisitive Muir
desperately snatches moments to himself, yearning to explore the
environment around him, secretly studying books on topics other
than religion, and rising at 1 a.m. to pursue his hobby of
inventing intricate time and energy-saving devices - much to his
father's disapproval and everyone else's admiration. At age
twenty-two, Muir takes it upon himself to apply to university, and
does so without financial or moral support from his father. He
makes his way to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study
chemistry and botany, and though never graduating with a degree, he
is satisfied that he had learned all he wanted to there, before
completing the rest of his nature education in 'the university of
the wilderness'. The Story of my Boyhood and Youth includes a new
foreword by Terry Gifford, and offers insight into the development
of Muir's spiritual connection with the natural world, and suggests
an explanation for his passion for freedom in the wilderness, a
stark contrast to the forced rigidity of his early years.
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