Wintering

by Diana Kappel-Smith

Through one winter, Diana Kappel-Smith searched for life in the woods and hills of New England, eager to learn where the rich and bountiful life of summer goes and how it manages to cope. Wintering is both an account of a personal journey and a gifted naturalist's chronicle of the season. It is powerful and always intriguing--a celebration of the tenacity of life, its resiliency and resurgence...

The author traveled deep into the Vermont hills, eager to understand better how the natural world survives the bitter cold and darkness. She is perceptive and ever questioning as she investigates what becomes of plants, insects, fish, woodchucks, and squirrels. Along the way, she also discovers that the season brings a wintering of the human spirit as well, and her handling of her own emotions and reactions during the winter is as fascinating as her reports on the natural world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

305 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s always disheartening when a truly wonderful book drops from the bookstore’s shelves. Such is the case with Diana Kappel-Smith’s “Wintering.” Originally published in 1984, and now out of print (the three worst words to any author’s ear) this book is a charmer, beautifully written ponderings centered on the winter landscape of her rural Vermont. Written with the wide-eyed innocent eye of a curious naturalist and backed up with the real science of a trained biologist, the author uses winter as a backdrop but the musings are larger. Is it even possible for us to truly understand the interwoven workings of the natural world? Is it even knowable? Are we always doomed to be slack-jawed wonderers?

As she writes, “I have seen a friend of mine, a brilliant doctor of freshwater biology, stand wide-eyed and immobilized in front of her blackboard, chalk clutched in her hand, intricate graphs and formulae forgotten, because she has said ‘…but every pond is different from every other pond!’ and has just heard herself, with a kind of panic, admit that she knows nothing—nothing beyond the most bland generalities—about a subject on which she has spent half her life.”

This book is just perfect. Now that winter is here, “Wintering” is a perfect nature book to curl up with on the sofa. Look for it. Find it!

[Matthew Kunnari · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating book. The author takes you through fall to autumn at her farm in Vermont and writes about all that changes outdoors. She is a biologist and a naturalist. She can be fairly scientific but it never felt bogged down, over my head. Topics she discuss are bird migration, trees adapting for winter, time and how plants really on the lengths of days, water/lake movement, hibernation and a lot more. I finished this before the onset of winter came and now I want to reread parts as they are accruing in realty.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book! Not sure why so few people have read it. The poetic narration kept me great company and made the happenings of winter feel more intimate and known. The scientific bits were also welcome, and I learned a lot- even the scientific parts were whimsical which was great. Was often teary eyed

[Steve Coscia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful explanation about the natural changes among animals, plantlife and weather as Winter approaches.