This 1915 account of gardening in the remote north-east of the subcontinent is both enjoyable and evocative of imperial India.

A rich, fresh, anecdotal, and thoughtful account. Beautifully written, the book tells the story of modern families in technological Los Angeles who live compatibly amid chaparral with the scores of wild species on the hillsides and in the canyon. For students of ecology, conservation, and the environment.

Facebook Post--May 26, 2013 "But Mary treasured up all these things and PONDERED them in her heart." Luke 2:19 NIV. 'Pondered'--I love that word. I love the look on the face of a pondering child. I love the words from the mouth of a pondering grown-up. Isn't it interesting that God chose a pondering heart in which to do such a mighty work? Is His Spirit searching the face of this earth right now for a pondering heart in which to do some mighty work? I suspect so. Could He do a mighty work in my pondering heart? I hope so. I need Him to. My God pondering goes on. Is that part of what God uses to see us through the heartbreaks of our lives--the ordinary? Is that how He brings peace and joy to a "peace and joy" starved heart--through the ordinary? Does He put us in a place, after putting us in THE PLACE where we can do something marvelous that we could never imagine of ourselves? I wonder how often Mary pondered the question: Why is this happening to me? Oh what a gift--a pondering heart. This is my story--my ponderings in script--my journey from the wilderness of an empty, pain-filled heart to the wonder even in the pain when I ponder the majesty of God, the mystery of God, and the mercy of God. Do come and ponder with me

Writing this book has first and foremost helped me as an individual person to come to terms with things that are happening to me and around me. It has helped me gradually to discover my strengths and weaknesses, my successes and failures. It has also helped me to see how my day-to-day existence can enrich the lives of others by allowing myself to touch them, by extending a helping hand to them in the name of love. It has helped me to see how my life can resonate with the lives of countless others with whom I come into contact as a man of God. It has helped me to discover as a unique person, amongst the millions, or rather billions of God's creations, that my life experiences can help others also to discover his love for us.

Reproduction of the original: Forty Years in the Wilderness by William A. Acott

Vinny's Wilderness opens in South Belfast with divorced teacher Vinny. She returns to her home to discover that her dearly loved and overgrown garden has been bulldozed and unceremoniously dumped in a skip outside her house. Who is responsible? We learn of her friendship with the glamorous Alex Masterton, whose son Denzil she is tutoring for the elevenplus. More interested in the outdoors than in endless practice papers, Denzil struggles against expectations, both at school, and within his rigid family home. The constraints governing Alex's life as Mrs Masterton are similarly exposed, with a psychologically abusive husband scornful of her supposedly inferior education. As Alex and Vinny's relationship develops, both women struggle to come to terms with past hurts and Alex makes a dramatic decision that will affect all their lives. Vinny's Wilderness is a sensitive rendering of childhood friendship, meditating on the importance and strength of female friendships alongside the curveballs of motherhood.

When John Muir moved to San Francisco, he immediately left for a week-long visit to Yosemite, a place he had only read about. Seeing it for the first time, Muir noted that "He was overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower." He climbed a number of mountains, including Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana, and hiked the old Indian trail down Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake. He lived in the cabin for two years and wrote about this period in his book First Summer in the Sierra. Muir wrote few more books about his days in California and also a few about California's nature and wild life including The Mountains of California, Our National Parks, The Yosemite and Picturesque California.

This meticulously edited John Muir collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: Picturesque California The Mountains of California Our National Parks My First Summer in the Sierra The Yosemite Travels in Alaska Stickeen: The Story of a Dog The Cruise of the Corwin A Thousand-mile Walk to the Gulf Steep Trails Studies in Sierra The National Parks and Forest Reservations Save the Redwoods Snow-storm on Mount Shasta Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park A Rival of the Yosemite The Treasures of the Yosemite Yosemite Glaciers Yosemite in Winter Yosemite in Spring Edward Henry Harriman Edward Taylor Parsons The Hetch Hetchy Valley The Grand Cañon of the Colorado

Since his canonization in 1970, St. Herman has been remembered for his just treatment of native peoples and his respect of the environment. Explaining how it came to be that this simple Russian Orthodox monk eventually settled in Kodiak, Alaska, this account brings to light many primary sources that illuminate the story of St. Herman and the wider context of the little-known history of Russian colonization in the Pacific Northwest. Providing a considerable amount of new information about his life, this book also reveals his fascinating connection to St. Seraphim of Sarov, the most universally recognized saint of the Russian Orthodox Church today.