Saturday 2 March 2024

A New Book: Natural Treasures of Chatham-Kent

 I had intended for this announcement to be out late last year. However there were some hiccups in the printing process along the way. Those have now been resolved, and so in the very near future, I expect this new book to be out. 

It is called Natural Treasures of Chatham-Kent and is similar in style to the one I produced almost a year ago, called Life on a Sandspit, which focused solely on Rondeau Provincial Park. You can see more about that here. Life on a Sandspit has been quite well-received to date, and I expect the coming few months will continue that trend. It is about 60 pages with more photos than text, and features a bit less than 100 photos. Natural Treasures of Chatham-Kent is about half as big again, with about 100 pages and more than 150 photos. I am fortunate and quite thankful that both Marie, and daughter Kristin, provided some helpful input to this book.


 There is a bit more text in Natural Treasures, as it features more natural habitats that were present at the time of settlement compared to those habitats restricted to Rondeau. It also includes some quotes from travelers through C-K from as far back as the late 1700s and the early 1800s.

It also includes a list of publicly accessible sites in C-K where some of these features can be found. It is surprising how many folks who have spent much of their lives in C-K are not familiar with some of these areas. With the continuing arrival of folks from elsewhere in Ontario who are now making C-K their home to take advantage of the relatively less expensive housing, it may be quite helpful for at least some of them.

I am not sure exactly when this book will be available, but hopefully within the next couple of weeks barring some unexpected future hiccups. I will provide that information, along with where it is available and the price in a future post. 

In the meantime, hopefully to whet the interest of some of you, what follows are a few photos that are featured in this new book. They are shown in more-or-less alphabetical order based on their photographic label. Click on them to see them in a larger format, but keep in mind that even then, they may not be as large as in the book itself (9" X 12").

American Rubyspot

Pawpaw

Bobolink

Bronzed Tiger Beetle

Large Yellow Lady's Slipper

Dickcissel

Eastern Grey Treefrog

Eastern Chipmunk

Eastern Prairie White-fringed Orchid
 
Autumn Maples

Hardwood Forest

Marsh Marigold


Tallgrass Prairie

Swamp Forest

Great Egret

Great Egret Roost

Giant Swallowtail nectaring on Ironweed

Forster's Tern bringing food to its mate

Lake Erie Cliffs

Golden Pholiota

Sandhill Crane against a stand of Pickerelweed

Lizard's-tail

Thames River from Tecumseh Monument

Wood Duck

Wood Thrush calling for a mate

Are there more books in the future? Perhaps. I have two ideas, one of which is well on its way, but there is a lot to be done to get them completed! Stay tuned!


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7 comments:

  1. Well done, brother, Allen. I am enjoying my copy of your recent first edition on this book. Amazing photography as usual!!

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    1. Thank-you! I just wish I had caught the printing errors before sending out a couple of copies. Fortunately the printer recognized the problem, and agreed that it was on his end, so things got resolved. The final proof looks quite good, and some of the photos definitely benefited from the re-do.

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  2. Congratulations, Allen, on both books! Curious about whether or not both will be available at the Rondeau PP store...

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    1. Thank-you! It will be available at the Friends of Rondeau bookstore, as Life on a Sandspit has been. However I have not yet determined whether it will be at the Rondeau store by the campground. But probably at the Bayview just outside the park, as LoaS has been.

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  3. I thoroughly enjoyed your first and am looking forward to your second book!

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    1. Thanks for your encouraging comments, Bev. I hope you get to enjoy the new one in a short while!

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  4. Another amazing achievement. Congratulations!

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