Seasons of the Wind: A Naturalist's Look at the Plant Life of Southwestern Sand Dunes

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0873583930/?tag=2022091-20

1986

A Sense of Place: The Life and Work of Forrest Shreve

(Forrest Shreve (1878-1950) was an internationally known p...)

Forrest Shreve (1878-1950) was an internationally known plant ecologist who spent most of his career at the Carnegie Institution's Desert Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. Shreve's contributions to the study of plant ecology laid the groundwork for modern studies and several of his works came to be regarded as classics by ecologists worldwide. This first full-length study of Shreve's life and work demonstrates that he was more than a desert ecologist. His early work in Maryland and Jamaica gave him a breadth of expertise matched by few of his ecological contemporaries, and his studies of desert plant demography, the physiological ecology of rain-forest plants, and vegetational gradients on southwestern mountain ranges anticipated by decades recent trends in ecology. Tracing Shreve's development from student to scientist, Bowers evokes the rigors and delights of fieldwork in the first half of this century and shows how Shreve's sense of place informed his scientific thought—making him, in his own words, "not an exile from some better place, but a man at home in an environment to which his life can be adjusted without physical or intellectual loss." Forrest Shreve (1878-1950) was an internationally known plant ecologist who spent most of his career at the Carnegie Institution's Desert Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. Shreve's contributions to the study of plant ecology laid the groundwork for modern studies and several of his works came to be regarded as classics by ecologists worldwide. This first full-length study of Shreve's life and work demonstrates that he was more than a desert ecologist. His early work in Maryland and Jamaica gave him a breadth of expertise matched by few of his ecological contemporaries, and his studies of desert plant demography, the physiological ecology of rain-forest plants, and vegetational gradients on southwestern mountain ranges anticipated by decades recent trends in ecology. Tracing Shreve's development from student to scientist, Bowers evokes the rigors and delights of fieldwork in the first half of this century and shows how Shreve's sense of place informed his scientific thought—making him, in his own words, "not an exile from some better place, but a man at home in an environment to which his life can be adjusted without physical or intellectual loss."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0816510725/?tag=2022091-20

1988

One Hundred Desert Wildflowers of the Southwest

(Describes and depicts 100 Southwest desert flowers. Photo...)

Describes and depicts 100 Southwest desert flowers. Photos by the author and others. Includes index.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091140872X/?tag=2022091-20

1989

The Mountains Next Door

(The Rincon Mountains east of Tucson are a small and seemi...)

The Rincon Mountains east of Tucson are a small and seemingly undistinguished range; rounded and arid, they are more a site for foothill walks than serious exploring. Yet these unassuming mountains disclose many wonders and curiosities upon close inspection, as Janice Emily Bowers discovered while conducting a botanical study there. Over the course of two years she made 38 excursions into the Rincons—some for two or three days at a time—and garnered not only plant specimens but thoughts along the way. The Mountains Next Door is the first book to describe and celebrate the natural history of these mountains that even longtime Arizonans may often take for granted. "I watched the seasons march through the canyons," writes Bowers, "followed the wildflower parade from February through November, and throughout it all realized that I could travel in the Rincon Mountains forever and never learn all they contained." It is also a book of meditations, as Bowers reflects upon the meaning of nature, the similarities between the scientific and creative processes, the value of wilderness in the face of urban encroachment, and other ideas. Participating in the long tradition of reflective natural history writing, she has produced a memorable book that depicts the delights and dilemmas of field botany as it explores the perennial struggle between science and mysticism that tugs at every naturalist's heart. The Rincon Mountains east of Tucson are a small and seemingly undistinguished range; rounded and arid, they are more a site for foothill walks than serious exploring. Yet these unassuming mountains disclose many wonders and curiosities upon close inspection, as Janice Emily Bowers discovered while conducting a botanical study there. Over the course of two years she made 38 excursions into the Rincons—some for two or three days at a time—and garnered not only plant specimens but thoughts along the way. The Mountains Next Door is the first book to describe and celebrate the natural history of these mountains that even longtime Arizonans may often take for granted. "I watched the seasons march through the canyons," writes Bowers, "followed the wildflower parade from February through November, and throughout it all realized that I could travel in the Rincon Mountains forever and never learn all they contained." It is also a book of meditations, as Bowers reflects upon the meaning of nature, the similarities between the scientific and creative processes, the value of wilderness in the face of urban encroachment, and other ideas. Participating in the long tradition of reflective natural history writing, she has produced a memorable book that depicts the delights and dilemmas of field botany as it explores the perennial struggle between science and mysticism that tugs at every naturalist's heart.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0816512434/?tag=2022091-20

1991

Shrubs & Trees of the Southwest Deserts

(Field guide to 134 common species of the Southwest Desert...)

Field guide to 134 common species of the Southwest Deserts, with an emphasis on those in National Park Service sites. Detailed line drawings for identification.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1877856347/?tag=2022091-20

1993

A Full Life in a Small Place and Other Essays from a Desert Garden

(The frustrations and pleasures of gardening are evident; ...)

The frustrations and pleasures of gardening are evident; its implications for life are more subtle, lurking under a leaf or buried in a compost pile. Janice Emily Bowers senses these implications, and communicates them as only a fine writer can. In A Full Life in a Small Place, she shows how backyard gardening opens up a broader appreciation of both life and living. Her observations on organic gardening inspire further meditations on nature and wildlife, and demonstrate how gardens both complicate and enrich our lives. In their entirety, these sixteen essays ask how we shall live, and recognize that "before we can determine how, we need to find out why." The frustrations and pleasures of gardening are evident; its implications for life are more subtle, lurking under a leaf or buried in a compost pile. Janice Emily Bowers senses these implications, and communicates them as only a fine writer can. In A Full Life in a Small Place, she shows how backyard gardening opens up a broader appreciation of both life and living. Her observations on organic gardening inspire further meditations on nature and wildlife, and demonstrate how gardens both complicate and enrich our lives. In their entirety, these sixteen essays ask how we shall live, and recognize that "before we can determine how, we need to find out why."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0816513570/?tag=2022091-20

1993

Flowers and Shrubs of the Mojave Desert

(Field guide to over 120 of the common flowering plants of...)

Field guide to over 120 of the common flowering plants of the Mojave. Includes plants found at Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and Anza-Borrego State Park.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1877856797/?tag=2022091-20

Fish Springs and Black Rock: Forgotten Towns of Owens Valley

(Fish Springs and Black Rock, two long-forgotten settlemen...)

Fish Springs and Black Rock, two long-forgotten settlements in Owens Valley, California, were thriving communities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From 1864 to 1922, more than nine hundred people lived there, earning precarious livings as farmers, ranchers, miners, millwrights, merchants, and lumbermen. This is their story, and it is also the story of how the City of Los Angeles, by purchasing water rights throughout Owens Valley, gradually turned Fish Springs and Black Rock into ghost towns.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692209859/?tag=2022091-20

The Best Spring Ever: Why El Nino Makes The Desert Bloom

(The words El Nino make us think of weather - but El Nino ...)

The words El Nino make us think of weather - but El Nino is also a biological phenomenon. In the desert Southwest, where El Nino intensifies cool-season rain, wild flowers respond with spectacular displays, boosting the entire ecosystem. Pocket mice and harvester ants, coyotes and desert tortoises - all benefit directly or indirectly from the massive input of flowers, greenery, and seeds that typifies the best El Nino years...photographer Carll Goodpasture has captured the lushness of spring bloom after the El Nino of 1997/98 one of the strongest in recent memory...The text and captions by Janice Emily Bowers provide up-to-date information about El Nino and its influence on desert ecosystems. (excerpted from the inside front cover)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0943460441/?tag=2022091-20

Frequently Asked Questions About the Saguaro

(How do you pronounce SAGUARO? How tall do saguaros grow? ...)

How do you pronounce SAGUARO? How tall do saguaros grow? How much do saguaros weigh? Learn the answer to these and many other questions in Frequently Asked Questions About the Saguaro. This easy-to-read book provides brief well researched answers to the questions most asked about these giants of the Sonoran Desert. Readers will learn about the climate that best fosters saguaro growth. They’ll see how birds and other critters use saguaros for their homes. And they’ll also find fascinating information about the plant’s flowers and fruits, including the best time of year to see their magnificent bloom and how native people make the fruit into a delicious syrup. Vividly illustrated with drawings and color photography, Frequently Asked Questions About the Saguaro is a great resource on an important and beautiful cactus.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583690395/?tag=2022091-20