My feet are practising their steps, gauging the slipperiness of wet lichen on rock and sounding each landing. As my stride shifts to a swing I realize I have a sharper sense of my place in the woods now. I am as taut and limber as a bow-string. I sense bears in the woods, weigh their threat and move on, glorying in the mosses beneath my feet …. We in the woods share fear. By grace of my fear, I am closer to predators and prey.

The View From Foley Mountain is a celebration of the joy of living in harmony with the natural world. The seasonal selections lead you through the fields, woods, rock outcroppings and shores of the conservation area which is the author’s home.

You will savour the fragrance of maple syrup boiling, share in a summer heron census, snowshoe to a beaver lodge, watch a snapping turtle laying eggs, witness the death of a starving deer, and see turkey vultures soar.

Whether she is rejoicing in old barns, canoeing the Snake River, harvesting dye plants or stalking moths at night, Peri Phillips McQuay’s deep love and lyrical vision stimulate you to share her sense of wonder in her surroundings.