This book is about common things in the natural world that many people would find fascinating if they happened to notice them. ...I do hope [the book] will inspire readers to take an excursion in a park or through their own neighborhood with heightened sensitivity to the sights, sounds, and smells all around them. ...[T]here are also a number of entries, organized roughly by season, to provide a better understanding of some of the things you might see in a nearby forest, field, or marsh. -- Introduction, by the author.