Twenty brief, witty, thoughtful essays about nature. Whether Jake Page writes about his own homemade backyard pond, the uncertain future of horseshoe crabs, the persistence of starlings, disappearing seashores, threatened rain forests, the death of a baby chimney swift, or the vocalization of songbirds, he's telling us about the reality of things-about ourselves and our world: how life evolves and interacts, how ponds gradually support an ecosystem, how birds migrate, how animals communicate.
Page asks questions and gives answers with the curiosity and the insight of a scientist. Any reader will come away with fresh insights about the world outside.

Jake Page was a longtime editor and monthly columnist on bird life for Smithsonian Magazine.