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The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs
The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animalsand Other Forgotten Skills | Tristan Gooley
Gooleys more than two decades of pioneering outdoor experience include research among the Dayak people of Borneo and the Tuareg of the Sahara. With his first book, The Natural Navigator, he started a renaissance in the rare art of reading natures clues. Now, in The Lost Art of Reading Natures Signs, Gooley has compiled more than 850 outdoor tipsmany not found in any other book in the worldthat will open readers eyes to natures hidden logic. He shares techniques for forecasting and tracking, and for walking in the country or city, along the coast, and by night. This is the ultimate resource on what the land, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, and clouds can revealif you only know how to look!
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CaitZ
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Cool 👌🏻📚 11mo
Eggs Love this 🌞💚🌿 11mo
34 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Rollinsfan1
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I'm excited for this one.
As an amateur wildlife photographer, I think this might come in handy for all of my mini adventures.

lazydaizee Looks like a very interesting and useful book. 3y
4 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Mtroiano
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Book mail!

BiblioLitten That looks like a great read! 4y
28 likes1 comment
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bookishbitch
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One does not simply browse a bookstore aimlessly without consequences. Or is that just me?

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SW-T
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Pickpick

I picked this up on a whim, and I‘m glad I did! Hard to put down, engaging, and full of useful information. Loved the trivia sprinkled throughout the book. I‘d still want a compass or GPS if I were in the jungle or dessert, but it‘s fun to try and apply the concepts in the book to my afternoon walks. Adds new layers of appreciation to the everyday sights around my neighborhood.

#nature #naturebooks

22 likes2 stack adds
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LWagoner
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Pickpick

4.5 ⭐️. This book is packed with very interesting guidance to find one‘s way by simply looking at what is around us. Nature already has a wonderful roadmap- if only we would be observant and vigilant.

MEGR I was just looking at this book a week ago...so good to know you liked it! ❤️ 5y
LWagoner @MEGR This not a very quick read. It is packed with so much info. I am looking at lichens in a whole new way though, lol! 5y
MEGR @LWagoner ohhh! I can‘t wait! 5y
40 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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LWagoner
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This book is making me take notice of my surroundings...love paying attention to the noticeable and subtle signs of nature.

Karkar That is so cool looking! 5y
29 likes1 comment
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debthmpsn
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Thank you, thank you, thank you to @MirrorMask I adore absolutely everything you sent in #thegreatwideopen swap. You seriously nailed it!! I published an unboxing video to YouTube (sincere apologies in advance for completely messing up your name—☺️🤦‍♀️) watch:
https://youtu.be/XfDjzRpF0pM

Thank you again. These items are going to get so much love.

TrishMcCallister This is the best group of items! Great finds! #booksforhikers (edited) 5y
MirrorMask Yay! I'm glad you liked everything!! 5y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Great Haul!! 💕 5y
ReadingRover I‘ve been wanting those postcards forever!!! Great package!!! 5y
78 likes4 comments
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keithmalek
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#7favesin7days 5/14 (I missed a day)

Post a book you love each day for 7 days, without review or comment, with the hashtag #7favesin7days in your post so we can keep it going!

23 likes2 stack adds
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Ber135
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My current Spring reads, perfect for my time outside in the park with this lovely weather #CurrentlyReading #SpringReads #Ontheroad

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niftytiffd
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I just snatched these two great deals! 😁🙃❤️📚

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HardcoverHearts
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One of the things I really want to do next year is be outside more. I live in a remarkably beautiful area. I want to do more hikes/ camping. Being a reader, I default to books before trying it first. 😂 So far, this book has offered some practical & insightful tips and tricks on how to understand your environment. I am going on a small hike this morning, to a trail that I know very well, but I am excited to try some of these ideas out in practice.

KVanRead There are so many great places to walk and hike in the Bay Area. One of my new year‘s goals is to make my way through the rest of this book 6y
HardcoverHearts @KVanRead That's a great book! Nice to know that I'm not the only one wanting to spend more of next year exploring. We are lucky to live here. 6y
30 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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ValChanelle
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This is a must-read for anyone interested in nature, whether you are a camper, hiker, bruja, rootworker, stargazer, birdwatcher, or tree hugger. It‘s an accessible, practical handbook for people who love outside. Awesome work by Mr. Gooley. #tristangooley #nature

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No_One
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Last Sunday a friend and I got lost in the woods. A 7km hike turned into a little more. 😂😂😂 I can laugh now but I was scared at the time! So maybe I should read this book about how to read nature. It has actually been on my TBR list since I went to Scotland in May. #TwistedTuesday #AwesomeAutumnBooks @Jess7

Suet624 Yikes! 7y
tpixie Oh my! 7y
Libby1 Glad you're safe, @No_One ! 7y
See All 16 Comments
No_One @Libby1 thanks! All's well that ends well! 🙂 7y
CoffeeCatsBooks Wow, that's nearly double! Glad you are okay. 7y
xicanti Eek! I'm glad you found your friend. 7y
[DELETED] 206653737 Nice 👏🏻 7y
Posemn Been there. Done that. It IS scary! 7y
No_One @CoffeeCatsBooks @xicanti @bookish22 @Posemn thank you all! Litsy folks are Lotsy awesome! 😆 7y
RadicalReader @No_One was wondering if you were reading while walking. That is definitely multitasking at its finest! 6y
No_One @RadicalReader haha! No! I am clumsy enough already! 6y
RadicalReader @No_One nothing wrong with being clumsy people do have a tendency to be like that. What has been your all time favorite book to read? 6y
No_One @RadicalReader sorry I've been out of town and not Litsying as much as I'd like! My all time favourite... tough call.... The Shining is right up there! And you? 6y
RadicalReader @No_One my favorite is definitely 6y
No_One @RadicalReader sounds interesting! And intense! 🙂 6y
RadicalReader @No_One you should check it out! You can check it out from your local library and they can inter library loan it or buy it for their library. Can‘t wait to read your review on it😁 6y
161 likes2 stack adds16 comments
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respekt1111
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Never get lost again! Haha, yeah right. This book has some fascinating tips for observing nature to help orient yourself in the world. I can't wait for my next hike!

26 likes3 stack adds
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GoneFishing

I would rather die walking than die of boredom reading about how to walk safely.

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jenlbean
Pickpick

I enjoyed learning new facts and implementing them on my walks. It was a good read and didn't drag out the way some field guides and instructional books do. I did wish for a bit more of the adventure portions to make it a little more exciting.

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jenlbean
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Morning rituals. I haven't taken notes on a book for years!

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Sharpeipup
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How do they know there's only 1 alligator? (Note: we saw at least 5) #litsyhumor #englishlanguage #signs

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underthebelljar
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I bought this Kindle deal today. Sounds like an interesting read. I've always been fascinated by this subject. Anyone read it?

Wife No. But sounds interesting. 7y
Lmstraubie No, but can't wait to hear what you think. It has peaked my curiosity... 7y
39 likes1 stack add2 comments
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keithmalek
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JanuarieTimewalker13 I must sleep in complete darkness. I have a friend who visits me about twice a year and wants a night lighting the hallway and I'm like, no. Lol I detest light. Streetlights are too bright also. 7y
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek

A "syzygy" is an impossibly lovely word which means three celestial bodies have aligned; for example, when there is an eclipse the Earth, sun and moon form a straight line.)

MrBook I love that word. 7y
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek

If you are paddling a canoe or kayak along a river and want a helping hand in reading the currents, then the plants may offer assistance. Plants will reflect the flow of water in the same way that trees do with the wind. The more horizontal they are, the faster the water flows on average, so depending on whether you're going upstream or down, this will show you the channels you want to avoid or follow.

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keithmalek

No river will run straight for more than 10 times its own width; the physics of river flow won't allow it. There are many stretches of rivers that run straight for longer distances, but when they do its certain clue to human engineering. The width of a river is also a clue to how sharp its bends will be, since the radius of a bend is normally between 2 and 3 times the width. In other words, the narrower the river, the sharper the twists and turns.

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keithmalek

The bigger the body of water, the greater the potential for large tides when it meets land. The Mediterranean has small tides; some Atlantic coasts see great ones. West-facing shores see bigger tidal ranges than east-facing shores. This is because the direction of the rotation of the Earth sets up east-moving waves in the oceans, called Kelvin waves.

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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek

Looking out to sea, you will sometimes see fish jumping. Dolphins may do this for fun, but fish are not notorious fun-seekers--they are probably trying to escape from a predator. In the UK this is not a cause for concern, but in many parts of the world it is. In parts of the US, like South Carolina for example, the sight of leaping bait fish is a clue to sharks...and a signal for lifeguards to get people out of the water.

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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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You may very occasionally spot a moonbow, formed in an identical way to a conventional rainbow, but with the moon's light as the source. This will indicate where the moon is, but the light is too weak to create colors, so you will only see a faint white bow.

JanuarieTimewalker13 Beautiful !!! I've never seen a moonbow!! 7y
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keithmalek
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If you see a secondary rainbow, the sky will appear darker between them. This dark arc of sky is known as "Alexander's dark band," after Alexander of Aphrodisias, who recorded it early in the Christian era.

JanuarieTimewalker13 Cool !!! I saw a double rainbow in Maine! 7y
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keithmalek

Rainbows are most likely to form when you are within a few hundred meters of rain. The weather is either about to get better or worse and quickly. Since in the US and UK weather comes from the west much more commonly than the east, it follows that rainbows we see in the morning usually mean we are about to get wet and those we see in the evening usually mean that things are about to improve toward a bright sunset.

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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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Faibka This looks like a very interesting read 7y
keithmalek Yes! I loved it! Almost every page has something quotable on it! 7y
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keithmalek

If two people are walking in opposite directions on a pavement and realize they are on a collision course, then they will take evasive action. They will turn one way to avoid bumping into each other, but which way? Europeans tend to turn right, but in many parts of Asia people turn left. Men tend to turn to look at each other, but women tend to turn to face away from each other. When it gets crowded, Indians walk faster than Germans.

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keithmalek

On average we accelerate when we walk past offices and especially banks. We also walk more quickly in car parks, but slow down when we pass any surface that reflects well, like mirrors in shops.

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keithmalek

Find a hospital and a florist will be nearby. A bus stop increases the likelihood of finding a newsagent. A school will lead to a crosswalk and that shapes the flow of people, which in turn will influence the shops near to it. And there always seems to be fast food near secondary schools.

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keithmalek

Runways are generally oriented along the direction of the prevailing wind, because aircraft need to take off and land into the wind, and so the lower a large aircraft is the more confident you can be that it is pointing you in the prevailing wind direction.

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keithmalek

Very recently we learned from researchers that a dog wagging it's tail to the left (from the tail-owner's perspective) is less happy and more anxious than one wagging it's tail to the right. And dogs pick up on this in each other.

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keithmalek

Researchers have found that dogs are right- or left-pawed, just as we are right- or left-handed. They have also discovered that left-pawed dogs have a tendency to be significantly more aggressive than right-pawed dogs. So if on your walks you see a dog that worries you, take note of which paw it uses to pin things down and which one it leads with when it sets off from walking.

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keithmalek

Certain mammals only thrive if an ecosystem is particularly healthy and diverse. If you see field mice, rabbits or deer on a walk, you can be very confident that there is very rich and varied wildlife around you.