{"product_id":"on-the-wild-edge-in-search-of-a-natural-life-9780805047745","title":"On the Wild Edge: In Search of a Natural Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eA naturalist captures the beauty and capriciousness of nature as he reflects on twenty-five years of life on a mountainside in southwestern Colorado  Twenty-five years ago David Petersen and his wife  Caroline  pulled up stakes  trading Laguna Beach  California  for a snug hand-built cabin in the wilderness. Today he knows that mountain land as intimately as anyone has ever known his family  his lover  or his own true self. He has become so attuned to his environment  as this memoir demonstrates  that when a dead twig snaps  he knows what stepped on it  how much it weighs  and what its intentions are.  The author conflates a quarter century into the adventures of four high-country seasons  tracking the rigors of survival from the snowmelt that announces the arrival of spring to the decline and death of autumn and winter that will establish the fertile ground needed for next springs rebirth. Throughout each instance of personal history and story  Petersen illustrates the complete reciprocity of nature where the same impulse that governs the flight of elk or bear also governs the predators impulse of pursuit.  In the past we listened to Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold; today it is Petersens turn. A committed believer in Thoreaus dictum \"in wildness is the preservation of the earth \" Petersens observations are lyrical  scientific  and from the heart. In this chaotic age  his clear  direct prose is rich with mystery and soul  his words a plea for the survival of the remnant wilderness that surrounds us.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45646896300085,"sku":"ByrdShop_0805047743","price":49.33,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780805047745.jpg?v=1781680652","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/on-the-wild-edge-in-search-of-a-natural-life-9780805047745","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}