Nature on the Doorstep: A Year of Letters

by Angela E. Douglas

Nature on the Doorstep reveals the simple pleasures of paying attention to the natural world in one’s own backyard over the course of a year.

Angela Douglas shares the joys and curiosities of a decidedly ordinary patch of green in upstate New York cultivated through the art of “strategic neglect"―sometimes taking a hand to manage wildlife, more often letting nature go its own way.

From the first flowers of spring and the fireflies of high summer to a hoarding chipmunk in the fall and cardinals singing in the winter, Douglas shows us the magic of welcoming unexpected plant life and animal life into one’s backyard. Along the way, she weaves intimate observations of wildlife with morsels of natural history; a surprise visit from a Cooper’s hawk, for instance, prompts reflection about why bird eye colors vary.

A paean to the richness we find when we stop to look and let be, Nature on the Doorstep celebrates the role humble backyards play both in conservation efforts and in an expanded appreciation of the living world.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Memoir, Animals, Biology

Audible Audio

Published May 16, 2023

About the author

Angela Elizabeth Douglas (born 1956) is a British entomologist who researches insect nutrition, and is known for her research on symbiotic relationships between insects and microorganisms. She has been the Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Professor of Insect Physiology and Toxicology at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, since 2008, and previously held a chair at the University of York (2003–8).

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Ithaca University professor and biologist, stuck at home during the pandemic in 2020, wrote weekly letters back to friends and family in the UK about all the activity going on in her backyard. She describes what she calls her ‘strategic neglect’ of her yard as a way to protect and enhance the habitat of the birds and other wildlife living there.

I did not have access to the print version, only the audio. Usually the audio narration tends to increase my enjoyment of the book but in this case, it was a detraction. ( Your mileage may vary and I am a mood reader, so take that with a grain of salt. )

The best part of this book, in my opinion, was the postscript, in which the author makes a good case for having a ‘less tidy’ but a more environmentally friendly backyard. (For example, she uses no pesticides. Alternative methods of controlling undesirables are instead mentioned.)

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am thoroughly impressed with the author's powers of observation and ability to write simply, beautifully and engagingly about what happens in her backyard.

It's also a happy coincidence that she is an instructor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where Anna Comstock (The Handbook of Nature Study) was the first woman professor.

[nat marcowka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a cute book & an easy read! Learned a lot about different wildlife and creatures!

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In March of 2020, Angela Douglas started writing a weekly letter for friends and family (most of whom were in the UK) about her observations of the natural world in her backyard in Ithaca, NY. In Nature on the Doorstep, she collected these letters and reading through the collection gives you a sense of time travel through the seasons of the natural world as well as an appreciation of all that we can observe if we just take the time and notice the world around us. Neither Douglas nor her husband are gardeners - she describes their landscaping strategy as one of "strategic neglect." Within this framework, though, she sees the insects, butterflies, and moths flourish. She enjoys the antics of squirrels, chipmunks, rabbit, and deer. She watches the lifecycle of the trees and flowering plants - and she is able to appreciate how all these things come together. In the postscript, she speaks to always knowing that having access to nature was important to her, but that it wasn't until she started composing these weekly letters that she delved into understanding why that access mattered and recognized the importance of the connections of the natural world. Douglas is a professor of Insect Physiology and Toxicology at Cornell. This book is a beautiful example of what you can get when someone with a genuine love and admiration of the natural world combines that love with a strong scientific background. This was a delight to read - and would be wonderful to keep on a side table to pick up every week and read long with Douglas throughout a year.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a few pages to realize the author Angela is a bug woman by profession so she comes by her descriptive nature and attention to detail rightly. If you know a bit about birds, plants, trees or bugs, you will thoroughly enjoy Angela's witty description of her own backyard creatures that she's observed. The Ithaca, NY climate is very much like my own here in West Michigan so her turning of the seasons was very familiar. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a weekly journaling of nature outside her doorstep.

[Moira Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely reminder to slow down and pay attention to our own backyards. There’s much beauty and activity to witness!