Using the seasonal roads (passable only from spring to fall) of Steuben County, New York to establish setting, the author, a literary naturalist, contemplates the meaning of "place" as she walks the back roads, bringing nature to life.

Mary A. Hood is professor emerita at the University of West Florida. She is the author of The Strangler Fig and Other Tales: Field Notes of a Conservationist and Rivertime: Ecotravel on the World's Rivers. In addition, she has published several collections of poetry, general articles on conservation and the environment, and numerous scientific articles in the field of microbial ecology.