Urban Wild Review & GIVEAWAY

Get your recommended weekly dose of nature! Urban Wild: 52 Ways to Find Wildness on Your Doorstep by Helen Rook. Her book is a collection of activities designed to deepen your connection with the natural world - especially if you live in a town or city. It features 52 practical ways to discover the beauty of nature where you live. Embrace and experience all four seasons - winter, spring, summer and autumn - and their distinct changes. Activities are organized monthly from January to December. Awaken and engage your senses with meaningful, family-friendly activities. Projects are arranged neatly with step-by-step instructions and beautiful photography. Every week offers a new way to tap into nature. These include creative, culinary, herbal, and mindful activities. Learn new skills and knowledge while developing a passion for the outdoors. The benefits include improved health and well-being. See excerpts and the complete table of contents below. ‏Bloomsbury Publishing released this 224-page hardcover on April 19, 2022. Get your copy below!

CONTENTS

The planting of the seed

A note on safety

January

Take a tree shower 

Sounds of nature

Landscape navigation

Wild potpourri

February

Micro-pilgrimage

Valentines for the birds

Animal tracking

Home spa facial

March

Be out in a storm (or at least watch one)

Make a spring flower bouquet

Plant a nectar bar

Eat wild spring pesto

Spring wild weather activity:  

Homemade reed diffusers

April 

Plant something and watch it grow

Watch for the first swallows

Make nettle cordial

Foraged pakoras

May

Make daisy oil

Sleep in a hammock

Make a natural gratitude journal

Honour your feet

June

Make rose petal gin

Make elder flower champagne

Afternoon tea ceremony

Find a sit spot

Summer wild weather activity: 

Make herbal gin bags

July

Get to water

Make mojito jellies

Savour a plant

Cloud watching

 

August

Go camping

Look at the stars

Sit by a fire

Swim in the sea

September

Wild herbal balms

Bountiful berries and the art of eating mindfully

Wild mocktails

Rose hip vinegar

Autumn wild weather activity: 

Make a plaster print

October

Wild berry jelly

Make a bulb lasagna

Autumn light photography

Carve a pumpkin

November

Make something and burn it

Scrumped apple pies

Go on a night walk

Plant a tree (even indoors)

December

Christmas wreath walk

Bake bread on a skillet

See a sunrise

Know when enough is enough

Winter wild weather activity:

Make an ice globe

Sounds of nature

   

Valentines for the birds

Animal tracking

Get to water

Make mojito jellies

Look at the stars

September

Rose hip vinegar

Make a bulb lasagne

The best pumpkin soup

Know when enough is enough

Some photos I took during a February walk.

Urban Wild: 52 Ways to Find Wildness on Your Doorstep ISBN-13 : 978-1472990969 is available worldwide at Bloomsbury Publishing. They have generously offered to giveaway a copy! One winner will be selected at random. Open until March 11, 2023. Canadian and US addresses only. Good luck!

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Tree Vision Review & GIVEAWAY

The outside is calling! This is Tree Vision: 30 Cards to Cure Your Tree Blindness written by Tony Kirkham and illustrated by Holly Exley. Learn how to identify trees, their leaves, seeds, flowers and much more with this engaging thirty piece flashcard set. Each tree profile includes a concise tree description and accurate paintings of the tree and its parts. The card front features assorted full color pictures showing the tree as it appears in summer and winter, its leaf and depictions of its flower, bark, fruit, seeds and varieties. These beautiful botanical watercolor illustrations are by UK artist Holly Exley. The card's reverse provides the tree name and fascinating facts about the specific tree in easy-to-read font sizes and types. This text is by world renowned tree expert Tony Kirkham. You'll find the tree's latin name, how to recognize it, where to find it and how it is used. Tree species have been selected from five continents. These durable cards are neatly housed in a sturdy and attractive box measuring a generous 12.19 x 22.73 cm (4.8 x 8.95 inches). The cards are slightly smaller. Hours of offline fun and learning can be had whether inside or out. How would you use these cards? See excerpts and the complete list of tree flashcards below. Laurence King Publishing released the cards on September. 15, 2020. Get your set below!

List of Tree Flashcards

Ash

American Basswood

American Chestnut

American Sweetgum

Beech

Birch

Black Cherry

Black Willow

Bull Bay

Cedar

Eastern Cottonwood

Eucalyptus

Giant Redwood

Hornbeam

Juniper

Madrone

Maple

Monkey Puzzle

Monterey Cypress

Ohio Buckeye

Pecan

Pin Oak

Pine

Possumhaw

Quaking Aspen

Spruce

Sycamore

Tupelo

White Fur

Yew

Maple tree card front and back.

Sycamore tree card front and back.

Yew tree card front and back.

Suggestions on how to use these cards. 

My Tree Vision boxed card set.

Raincoast Books Canada has generously offered to giveaway a set of Tree Vision: 30 Cards to Cure Your Tree Blindness Cards! One winner will be selected at random. Open until June 12, 2022. Good luck!  CANADA ONLY.

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Floriography Review & GIVEAWAY

Get the scoop on flower meanings! This is Floriography: The Myths, Magic & Language of Flowers by Sally Coulthard. Floriography means the language of flowers. It's a form of communication using flowers. Every flower carries its own special meaning. For example, one you probably already know, a single red rose signifies love in western culture. Using flowers to communicate is widely practiced in modern society. Discover the secret meaning of fifty flowers and plants from across the world. Each flower is featured on two full pages next to each other. One page is text, the other an illustration. Sourcing the arts, culture and folklore the author shares snippets of information about each flower. With excerpts from English literature, Japanese mythology, American poetry, religion, medicine, witchcraft and much more. The artwork is by British artist Clover Robin. Her beautiful illustrations are a mixture of cut paper collage, painting, printing and hand drawing. Seeing them assembled collectively - wow! You might even use them as a reference for creating your own art. With dimensions of 14.35 x 19.18 cm (5.65 x 7.55 inches) this book fits into a small backpack or handbag making it easy use on the go. How thrilling to send messages with flowers. Do you know any flower meanings? See excerpts and the complete table of contents below. Quadrille Publishing released this 144 hardcover on March 9, 2021. Get your copy below!

CONTENTS

Introduction

Buttercup

Primrose

Daisy

Daffodil

Sunflower

Rue

Dandelion

Wattle

Pansy

Chrysanthemum

Marigold

Nasturtium

Honeysuckle

flowers to say...I love you

Poppy

Hydrangea

Rose

Echinacea

Oleander

Peony

Clover

Anemone

Lotus

Carnation

Orchid

Foxglove

flowers to say...good luck

Heather

Lilac

Hellebore

Mugwort

Thistle

Passionflower

Iris

Violet

Tulip

Periwinkle

Sage

Wisteria

Rosemary

flowers to say...I'm sorry

Bluebell

Cornflower

Lavender

Borage

Forget-me-not

Edelweiss

Lady's Mantle

Chamomile

Lily of the Valley

Yarrow

flowers to say...get well soon

Lily

Jasmine

Acknowledgements

Contents.

Clover.

Periwinkle.

Yarrow.

Chamomile, Dandelion, Echinacea, Lady's Mantle.

The buttercups, the little children’s dower, – Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

ROBERT BROWNING: HOME-THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD (1845)

In the hope of living in a studio of our own with Gauguin, I’d like to do a decoration for the studio. Nothing but large sunflowers.

LETTER FROM VINCENT VAN GOGH TO THEO VAN GOGH (1888)

Her eyes, like marigolds, had sheath’d their light And, canopied in darkness, sweetly lay, Till they might open to adorn the day.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: LUCRECE (1594)

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d, And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night, I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.

WALT WHITMAN: ‘WHEN LILACS LAST IN THE DOORYARD BLOOM’D’ (1865)

There sprang the violet all new, And freshe pervinke rich of hew, And floures yellow, white, and rede, Such plenty grew there never in mede

GEOFFREY CHAUCER: TROILUS AND CRISEYDE (14TH CENTURY)

Wisteria blossom in clusters Lovely coloured and long Intending to cherish him I bought sake

And offered it to him Embracing my beloved Just as the wisteria Twines around the pine

KATSUI GENPACHI: THE WISTERIA MAIDEN (1826)

My copy.

Raincoast Books Canada has generously offered to giveaway a copy of Floriography: The Myths, Magic & Language of Flowers! One winner will be selected at random. Open until June 1, 2022. CANADA  ONLY. Good luck!

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Cloud Spotter Review & GIVEAWAY

Look up! What’s that cloud? Learn how to identify clouds with Cloud Spotter: 30 Cards to Keep You Looking Up by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. He is founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society (2005) and a bestselling cloud author. Inside you'll find a set of 30 cards designed to help the beginning cloud spotter recognize and learn about common cloud types. The front of each card features a hand-painted watercolour cloudscape by illustrator and artist Marcel George. On the back you'll find a paragraph of information about the cloud pattern, for example - name, description, characteristics and distinguishing features. Highlighted and listed on the right are mood, altitude, precipitation, etymology, rarity rating and classification. The text is written for a general audience. The Cloud Spotter cards remind us to pause and look up. They provide a fun way to learn about the wide variety of clouds freely accessible to us all. This tech-free, family-friendly activity encourages an interest in science, weather and the environment. The Cloud Spotter cards come in a sturdy box for easy storage and portability. They would make a cool and unique gift. Cloudspotting has given me a new appreciation for the ever-changing skies around me. I'm enjoying it even more than I expected. The best place for cloud spotting is right where you are! Laurence King Publishing released this boxed set on April 27, 2021. Get your set below!

Box size: ‎ 10.8 x 3.49 x 13.34 cm (4.25 x 1.38 x 5.25 inches).

Some examples of the Cloud Spotter cards - both sides.

The fluctus - count yourself lucky if you spot this cloud formation.

Cloud spotting on the patio.

Included pamphlet on how to be a cloud spotter. 

Cloud Spotter ISBN-13 : 978-1786278883 is available worldwide at Laurence King. Established in London, England in 1991 Laurence King Publishing is one of the world’s leading publishers of books and gifts on the creative arts. Check out their unique catalog at Laurence King. Laurence King has generously offered to giveaway a copy! One winner will be selected at random. Open until July 18, 2021. CANADA  ONLY. Good luck!

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