Birds are both marvels of nature and artistic muses. The mere chance of sighting a prized species has long motivated human observers to brave early mornings, long days, and severe conditions. Birds have also inspired artists to honor them in imagery throughout the ages. In the form of bird-themed art and décor, the beauty of winged creatures informs the “nests” and working spaces of the birders, artists, collectors, and conservationists featured in the more than twenty delightfully written stories in The Birding Life. Through evocative writing and two hundred gorgeous color photographs, the authors of The Sporting Life and Living with Dogs capture the beauty, intrigue, and fun of birding—at home, in the country, in the city, and out in the field—with a special focus on the nostalgic memorabilia that signals devotion to birds of all kinds. In Part I: Birders in Birdland, you will meet Alexander Wilson, John James Audubon, and Roger Tory Peterson, the iconic figures responsible for first documenting America’s native birds for the public, and Kenn Kaufman and David Allen Sibley, authors of today’s most well-known American birding guides. You will visit Buck Hollow Ranch in Concan, Texas, where more than two hundred species of birds, including endangered species unique to the Hill Country, pass through in prime season. From there you will travel to New York City to meet thirteen-year-old Alexander Gottdiener, a licensed falconer who enjoys birdwatching in Central Park and in more exotic climes. Part II: Bird Houses welcomes you into the homes and studios of bird enthusiasts, artists, and collectors. In Houston, Texas, artists Lisa Ludwig and Joseph Havel’s home, which includes an aviary for injured birds and a studio where Lisa creates bronze bird-nest sculptures, serves as a tranquil retreat from the bustling city. Kristof Zyskowski, manager of the vertebrate collections at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, gives you a behind-the-scenes peek at the museum’s meticulously curated collection, which includes specimens from about 70 percent of the world’s bird species. In Part III: At Home with Birds, you will meet homeowners who have decorated their personal nests to reflect their love of avian life. In antiques dealers Paul and Sharon Mrozinski’s home, Victorian collections of specimen eggs and nests punctuate an eclectic mix of antique furniture and art. The Brooklyn loft shared by young sisters Hollister and Porter Hovey is a hipster ode to nature, featuring taxidermy and an assortment of curios, fabrics, and furniture that reflects their collective adoration of flora and fauna. Field trips throughout the book give readers a taste of the authentic experience of birders in bird-rich locations in Maine, Texas, North Dakota—and New York City’s greatest sanctuary, Central Park. Sidebars throughout the book cover how to start a birding hobby, what to pack in your birding bag, what to pack in your birding bag, what garden plantings best attract birds to the home, and what bird enthusiasts are wearing and collecting. An extensive resource section offers countless options for further exploration. A gorgeous volume and endless source of inspiration for lovers of birding and of bird-themed design alike, The Birding Life shows myriad ways to reflect your passion in your home.

The Birding Life: A Passion for Birds at Home and Afield

Science & Math

Sheehan, Larry

Sheehan, Carol

Precourt, Kathryn Ge

Nature & Ecology

Potter Style

The only complete illustrated history of the American sporting tradition records the story of Americans' relationship to and reverence for the land and its bounty. The Sporting Life features stories of sportsmen and women; photographs of sporting activities, homes, clubs, kennels, stables, cabins, and lodges; and a directory of dealers, fishing schools, museums, and memorabilia. Illustrations.

The Sporting Life: A Passion for Hunting and Fishing

Sports & Outdoors

Sheehan, Carol Sama

Stites, William

George, Kathryn

Stites, Willi

Hunting & Fishing

Clarkson/Potter

A season-by-season tour of the great golf courses of North America and Europe captures the finest courses, vintage clubhouses, personal retreats, legendary golfers, and valuable collectibles of the sport. 25,000 first printing.

A Passion for Golf: Treasures and Traditions of the Game

Golf

The devoted angler doesn't just pursue his meditative sport at stream, lake, or shore; he brings its nostalgic memorabilia into every room of the house. Fishing is an avocation that demands devotion, inspires colorful tales, and enriches memories of vacations, childhood days, and summertime. In The Angler's Life, the authors of the popular companion books The Sporting Life and Living with Dogs bring to life the anecdotes, artwork, keepsakes, and traditions of a pastime that is a passion for its devotees. With 30 irresistible stories and more than 300 stunning color photographs, The Angler's Life unveils the "obsessive interest in things piscatorial" that distinguishes most avid fishermen and women (not to mention children, who in these pages seem plucked from the novels of Mark Twain). From sea to river to pond throughout America and even across the Atlantic, The Angler's Life explores the lives and environments of a diverse range of fishing aficionados in four chapters. The chapter "Fishing Rooms" ducks inside to take a close look at dens festooned with antique creels; Pennsylvania bookbinder Sid Neff's 2,000-volume angling library; fishing editor and writer Nick Lyons's art-filled Manhattan brownstone; and even a 17th-century British "fishing room" erected by Charles Cotton in honor of Sir Izaak Walton, revered author of The Compleat Angler. In "At the Lake" we are invited to tour both an elegant lake retreat in Georgia and a fishing family's woodland cottage in Connecticut. "Coastal Waters" takes us from the century-old Tuna Club of Catalina Island, California, to an artist's cottage outpost on Chesapeake Bay, to Cabbage Key, a sun-drenched tarpon fishing island off the coast of Florida. The authors continue their cross-country journey in "On the Stream," visiting small fishing towns in northern Michigan, a Western river where both fish and conservation money are raised, and a fisherman's antique-filled converted one-room schoolhouse. Whether focusing on fly-fishing, ice-fishing, surf casting, or deep-sea fishing, the authors beautifully capture the mystical side of the sport -- the side that inspires anglers from all walks of life to surround themselves with elements that make tangible their love of the water and the open air. With a glossary of terms, a listing of the best spots to locate certain fish, and a source guide packed with information on everything from finding fishing gear to furnishing an Adirondack-style home, The Angler's Life is itself a virtual collector's item for both anglers and non-anglers alike.

The Angler's Life: Collecting and Traditions

For those who love the garden, it is not just about planting and growing, but about collecting garden-themed china, painting orchids and violets, visiting botanical gardens, reading and repairing rare horticultural books, competing in shows, and dreaming about the garden all winter long. In a book that celebrates the particular passion—perhaps “obsession” is a more accurate term—of the gardener’s life, Laurence Sheehan (with Carol Sama Sheehan,Kathryn George Precourt, and photographer William Stites) presents a diverse array of treasures that will delight every garden lover. In this select society, everyone understands why a collection of colorful seed packets could grow to fill many rooms, why one species of plant could preoccupy a lifetime, and why those with concrete patios as well as acres of ranch land could share a vision. In the first section, “Inspired Plantsmen,” The Gardener’s Life introduces a group of people whose passion focuses on the plants themselves—growers of herbs and roses from Connecticut to California who have spent lifetimes devoted to their favorite plants. “Passionate Collectors” presents aficionados of garden books, garden watercolors, garden ornaments, and even well-worn, much-used, and lovingly restored antique lawn mowers. Finally, whether they possess a desire to throw the perfect flowerpot or to create a miniature yard on a city terrace, the free spirits in “Singular Visions” offer new ways of looking at, and loving, the garden—demonstrating that each garden and each gardener who tends it is unique. Mixed among the stories of these individuals are photographic “excursions”—visits to flower shows and wildflower gardens that illustrate how vast and varied the gardener’s world truly is. More than a how-to gardening book, The Gardener’s Life works its way to the heart of why gardeners have unlimited fascination with their pastime, and why the garden is a place where art and nature, technique and toil—not to mention joie de vivre—meet to create paradise.

The Gardener's Life: Inspired Plantsmen, Passionate Collectors, and Singular Visions in the World of Gardening

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

Breathing Stone: Contemporary Haida Argillite Sculpture

Frontenac House

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Books by Sheehan, Carol