Synopses & Reviews
Self-Portrait with Turtles is a book in the spirit of Walden and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, but it is also unique, as David Carroll himself is. Driven by a passion for art and turtles, Carroll has lived a Walden-like life for decades, although he is married, with family. In Self-Portrait he tells the story of that remarkable life. He writes about his early encounters with turtles, which led to a lifelong fascination with them and their swampy habitats, and about the high school teacher who told him that, contrary to everything he had been taught before, art is the only thing that matters, the only thing that lasts. During his years at art school in Boston, he got to know the turtles of the Fenway, including one giant snapper he wrestled to shore and carried to his studio for a portrait session. After a brief career as a teacher, Carroll has spent decades scraping out a living as an artist and naturalist, raising three children on a shoestring with his artist wife. "We live like turtles," he has said; "we hunker down when times get hard." In a materialistic age, he and his family have gone their own way, living simply and self-sufficiently, showing that the secret of a good life is to devote yourself to what you love.
Review
"[Carroll's] words have the ping of authenticity....A pitch-perfect memoir, skirting sentimentality as it embraces sentiment, getting at nature's marvel and its endless transfigurations." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[A] slight but charming memoir....[T]his is not a natural history of turtles but rather a meditation on the author's life as a naturalist and a paean to the intriguing creatures that lured him to that calling." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[A] wonderful blend of natural history, memoir, and drawings....This beautifully illustrated memoir will be sought out by lovers of good nature writing." Nancy Bent, Booklist
Synopsis
You don't have to be an avid naturalist to love this poignant book. David M. Carroll is almost unique in his ability to capture nature equally well with his paintbrush, with carefully selected words, and with detailed scientific observations. In Self-Portrait with Turtles he brings to life the crucial moments that have shaped his passion and his talents: his early years in the Old Swamp; the teacher who told him, contrary to everything he had heard, that art is the only thing that matters, the only thing that lasts; his growing sense of the dichotomy between the nature he knew firsthand and the biology he was taught in the classroom; his years at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where he got to know the turtles of the Fens, including one giant snapper he wrestled to shore and carried in a wheelbarrow to his studio for a portrait session; his brief career as a teacher; and his decades scraping out a living as an artist, raising three children on a shoestring. He is, as Annie Dillard has said, "A madman, a genius, a national treasure," and in Self-Portrait with Turtles he tells us how he got that way.
Synopsis
A renowned artist, author, and naturalist, David M. Carroll is exceptionally skilled at capturing nature on the page. In Self-Portrait with Turtles, he reflects on his own life, recounting the crucial moments that shaped his passions and abilities. Beginning with his first sighting of a wild turtle at age eight, Carroll describes his lifelong fascination with swamps and the creatures that inhabit them. He also traces his evolution as an artist, from the words of encouragement he received in high school to his college days in Boston to his life with his wife and family. Self-Portrait with Turtles is a remarkable memoir, a marvelous and exhilarating account of a life well lived.
Synopsis
Through raising and rehabilitating birds, Julie Zickefoose pulls back a curtain on their motivations, desires, and even emotions.and#160;This bookand#160;is a visual feast, lavishly illustrated withand#160;watercolors and field sketches.
Synopsis
Julie Zickefoose lives for the moment when a wild, free living bird that she has raised or rehabilitated comes back to visit her; their eyes meet and they share a spark of understanding. Her reward for the grueling work of rescuing birdsand#8212;such as feeding baby hummingbirds every twenty minutes all day longand#8212;is her empathy with them and the satisfaction of knowing the world is a birdier and more beautiful place.
The Bluebird Effect is about the change that's set in motion by one single act, such as saving an injured bluebirdand#8212;or a hummingbird, swift, or phoebe. Each of the twenty five chapters covers a different species, and many depict an individual bird, each with its own personality, habits, and quirks. And each chapter is illustrated with Zickefoose's stunning watercolor paintings and drawings. Not just individual tales about the trials and triumphs of raising birds, The Bluebird Effect mixes humor, natural history, and memoir to give readers an intimate story of a life lived among wild birds.
About the Author
David Carroll is the author of The Year of the Turtle and Trout Reflections. A graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and of Tufts University, he has received an honorary doctorate from the University of New Hampshire and an Environmental Merit Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his work on wetlands. He and his wife, Laurette, also an artist, live in Warner, New Hampshire.
Table of Contents
EARLY YEARS
The First Eight Years · 3
The First Turtle · 5
Compañera · 10
Another Spring · 17
Wild Boy · 25
Loss · 34
Gordon · 38
Mr. Moxley and Mr. Malone · 39
The Beach · 41
Bill and DeDe · 45
Cedar Pastures · 50
Walden · 58
Art, Biology, Writing · 61
ART SCHOOL
My Room · 67
The Fens · 69
Girls · 72
The Ark · 74
Drawing, Painting, Writing · 79
Laurette · 84
Queensbury Street · 86
Farewell to Cedar Pastures · 92
MIDDLE YEARS
Big Sandy Pond · 97
Teaching · 103
Turtles · 105
The Old Johnson Farm · 114
Pumpkin Hill · 122
Wild Cranberries · 133
Archie Carr · 135
LATER YEARS
Sibley · 141
The Digs · 143
Dudley House · 146
Spotted Turtles · 148
The Year of the Turtle · 154
Tupper Hill · 159
Return of the Native · 165
The New Land · 169
Ariadne Nesting · 171