Monday, March 2, 2009

GSS on bookshelves now


I took this photo in early April, 2006 in the East Block of Grasslands National Park, where I was camping with Chris Reed to see what I could learn about Greater Sage-grouse on their spring dancing grounds.

It has been four years since I started the research for Grass, Sky, Song, but it hit the shelves last Friday and over the weekend I was hearing of people seeing it in stores. This morning I received a kind note from Cheryl Pearce of London, Ontario, who was one of the first to go out and get a copy (upon reading the Globe & Mail review). She finished it yesterday and fired off an email, which follows:

"Trevor: I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed Grass, Sky, Song. As soon as I saw the review in yesterday's Globe and Mail I rushed out to buy it, sat down, and didn't move until I had finished it. It was a delight (albeit a downer at times for those of us who love grasslands). I've worked in grasslands for as long as I can remember, mostly in southern Alberta (for example, Canada Agriculture's research station at OneFour - a must save, wondrous, almost-pristine huge
grassland full of the birds you talk about in your book). Although I am here in Ontario now until I retire, I spend my summers out west enjoying what's left of our native grasslands (I am an avid birdlearner) and on Manitoulin Island, ON which is partly "western" (i.e. has sharp-tail grouse, western meadowlarks, etc). I try to turn my students on to Canada's grasslands, but until you experience them in person, it is difficult. Robert Macfarlane states in his recent book The Wild Places that "open spaces bring to the mind something which is difficult to express but unmistakable to experience...". Let's hope we will have our grasslands and the enchantments they bring, forever.
Anyways, thank you so much for a wonderfully-written, enchanting book. I think I'll start from page 1 and read it again!
Cheryl M. Pearce, London, Ontario"

Thank you Cheryl--OneFour is a special place and deserves all the protection and care we can give it. And thanks for mentioning MacFarlane's book. A quick look on Amazon let me know that it is a book I will have to read.

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