If, like author Mary Blocksma, you wish you knew more about the Great Lakes woods and lake country you think of as God's country, this is the book for you. Upon her return from California to Michigan, Blocksma made a simple New Year's resolution: to take four or five walks a year, and each time identify ONE NEW THING. Before long, she was on familiar terms with most of what she saw.

In this book, Blocksma shares her discoveries in an evocative and inspiring journal, accompanied by excellent tips on how to tell her finds from similar species. This is a guide for the amateur who, until now, has found nature identification intimidating; the expert who knows wildflowers but not birds, or birds but not trees; and the armchair explorer yearning for a walk on the wild side.

Great Lakes Nature offers a positive approach to environmental awareness: "Familiarity breeds intimacy, and intimacy, concern," writes Blocksma in her introduction. "Entering the woods was like moving into a neighborhood where I knew almost no one. Now I have befriended so many inhabitants that if any of them moved away, I would know and feel bereft."