For forty years, Bernd Heinrich has been ensconced in the woods of the northern, or boreal, forest, a vast sea of spruce, fir and larch in the mountains of western Maine. All life confronts vast and occasionally rapid environmental changes, as one day, and one season, is to the next a completely different environment. Heinrich’s narrative illuminates the complete experience of his seasonal life–with the ups and downs of not just the leaves and snow, but also the problems, solutions and frustrations of unblinking immersion in nature. He observes the “common uncommon” of spiders, ants, chestnut trees, porcupines, owls and mice as his story branches out into five themes: Being, Becoming, Interbeing, Remembering and Returning. The Common Uncommon is a narrative of small surprises in nature, some delightful and some–brought on by climate change–devastating, all seen through the sharp eye of a world-renowned naturalist.
