Good reads: Forest Forensics

I became lost in the autumn woods this morning, in a good way. I was following a small group of deer. Overcast skies and steep, uneven ravines turned me around, as they have in the past. For a half hour or more I wasn't sure how to get back to the path from which I'd entered the woods. I confused north from south.

I wasn't in any danger, and, like many people, I've always enjoyed the woods. But when I took an interest in the woods, this little book became indispensable. Tom Wessels' well-illustrated Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape teaches us to interpret a forest by spotting evidence of  past agriculture, old growth, logging, fire, the windstorms of long ago, and more. I was missing so much that was right underfoot. Geographically, the book focuses on New England, but is relevant to Potomac Creek as well. Read it and you'll see a familiar forest with new eyes. Highly recommended.

More on what I'm reading is discussed here.