The Path Through The Trees

The need to outgrow one's childhood influences and establish an individual identity is common to us all, but for Christopher Milne it was an especially difficult experience in view of the unique problems he faced as the son of A. A. Milne. In this warm, honest, and often amusing autobiography, he traces the path which, after several wrong turnings, ultimately led him and his wife, Lesley, to establish the successful Harbour Bookshop in Dartmouth - a path which led not to spectacular achievements, but to modest success and contentment. Wise, humble, and philosophical, The Path Through the Trees is Christopher Milne's search as a young man for his own place in life, told with the same sincerity and vividness that distinguished his first book, The Enchanted Places. '. . . it is readily, and with the utmost pleasure, I give this alpha-plus.' Bookseller '. . . it has great charm, and is most enjoyable.' Daily Telegraph 'An irresistibly attractive candour informs this book.' Economist

Thirteen-year-old Norah Bingham and her mother plan to spend Christmas in the country with Norah's great-aunt. Great-aunt Caroline has many secrets. Among them is the identity of the boy Norah sees in the backyard. Who is he? And why is he watching the house?

Thirteen-year-old Norah Bingham and her mother plan to spend Christmas in the country with Caroline Stoppard, Norah’s great-aunt. When her mother is called away on business, Norah goes on her own to stay with the aunt, someone she has never even met. From the start, the woman makes it plain that she does not welcome Norahs company, nor that of Norah’s cousins, Andrew and Becca, who arrive two days later. The isolated Stoppard mansion is as dismal as the Ontario winter. But the cousins soon discover there are puzzles to solve. Great-aunt Caroline has many secrets. Among them is the identity of the boy Norah sees in the backyard. Who is he? And why is he watching the house?

Canadian botanist, biochemist and visionary Diana Beresford-Kroeger's startling insights into the hidden life of trees have already sparked a quiet revolution in how we understand our relationship to forests. Now, in a captivating account of how her life led her to these illuminating and crucial ideas, she shows us how forests can not only heal us but save the planet. When Diana Beresford-Kroeger--whose father was a member of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy and whose mother was an O'Donoghue, one of the stronghold families who carried on the ancient Celtic traditions--was orphaned as a child, she could have been sent to the Magdalene Laundries. Instead, the O'Donoghue elders, most of them scholars and freehold farmers in the Lisheens valley in County Cork, took her under their wing. Diana became the last ward under the Brehon Law. Over the course of three summers, she was taught the ways of the Celtic triad of mind, body and soul. This included the philosophy of healing, the laws of the trees, Brehon wisdom and the Ogham alphabet, all of it rooted in a vision of nature that saw trees and forests as fundamental to human survival and spirituality. Already a precociously gifted scholar, Diana found that her grounding in the ancient ways led her to fresh scientific concepts. Out of that huge and holistic vision have come the observations that put her at the forefront of her field: the discovery of mother trees at the heart of a forest; the fact that trees are a living library, have a chemical language and communicate in a quantum world; the major idea that trees heal living creatures through the aerosols they release and that they carry a great wealth of natural antibiotics and other healing substances; and, perhaps most significantly, that planting trees can actively regulate the atmosphere and the oceans, and even stabilize our climate. This book is not only the story of a remarkable scientist and her ideas, it harvests all of her powerful knowledge about why trees matter, and why trees are a viable, achievable solution to climate change. Diana eloquently shows us that if we can understand the intricate ways in which the health and welfare of every living creature is connected to the global forest, and strengthen those connections, we will still have time to mend the self-destructive ways that are leading to drastic fires, droughts and floods.

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees, this guide to awakening your senses and engaging deeply with the forest is the perfect gift for hikers and walkers. “This book will fast-track you into the joys of spending time amongst the trees.”—Tristan Gooley, author of The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs and How to Read Water "You'll be changed after reading this fine and enchanting book.”—Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling and Last Child in the Woods When you walk in the woods, do you use all five senses to explore your surroundings? For most of us, the answer is no—but when we do, a walk in the woods can go from pleasant to immersive and restorative. Forest Walking teaches you how to engage with the forest by decoding nature’s signs and awakening to the ancient past and thrilling present of the ecosystem around you. What can you learn by following the spread of a root, by tasting the tip of a branch, by searching out that bitter almond smell? What creatures can be found in a stream if you turn over a rock—and what is the best way to cross a forest stream, anyway? How can you understand a forest’s history by the feel of the path underfoot, the scars on the trees along the trail, or the play of sunlight through the branches? How can we safely explore the forest at night? What activities can we use to engage children with the forest? Throughout Forest Walking, the authors share experiences and observations from visiting forests across North America: from the rainforests and redwoods of the west coast to the towering white pines of the east, and down to the cypress swamps of the south and up to the boreal forests of the north. With Forest Walking, German forester Peter Wohlleben teams up with his longtime editor, Jane Billinghurst, as the two write their first book together, and the result is nothing short of spectacular. Together, they will teach you how to listen to what the forest is saying, no matter where you live or which trees you plan to visit next.

National bestseller A thrilling odyssey through an unforgiving landscape, from "Canada's greatest living explorer." In the spring of 2017, Adam Shoalts, bestselling author and adventurer, set off on an unprecedented solo journey across North America's greatest wilderness. A place where, in our increasingly interconnected, digital world, it's still possible to wander for months without crossing a single road, or even see another human being. Between his starting point in Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory, to his destination in Baker Lake, Nunavut, lies a maze of obstacles: shifting ice floes, swollen rivers, fog-bound lakes, and gale-force storms. And Shoalts must time his departure by the breakup of the spring ice, then sprint across nearly 4,000 kilometers of rugged, wild terrain to arrive before winter closes in. He travels alone up raging rivers that only the most expert white-water canoeists dare travel even downstream. He must portage across fields of jagged rocks that stretch to the horizon, and navigate labyrinths of swamps, tormented by clouds of mosquitoes every step of the way. And the race against the calendar means that he cannot afford the luxuries of rest, or of making mistakes. Shoalts must trek tirelessly, well into the endless Arctic summer nights, at times not even pausing to eat. But his reward is the adventure of a lifetime. Heart-stopping, wonder-filled, and attentive to the majesty of the natural world, Beyond the Trees captures the ache for adventure that afflicts us all.

Like a busker juggling, we go through life balancing values as balls in the air...If one falls, the good busker picks it quickly up, resumes the performance and the audience applauds the skill in maintaining balance and harmony. Busker and the Trees is affirmation and encouragement for those on a path seeking true wellness in life. Adel Bishai’s story begins in middle-class Egypt steeped in cosmopolitan culture and ancient history then tracks the author on a journey spanning eight decades, to nearly fifty countries and five continents, through heated politics and fascinating occupational opportunities, to love and family and the success of being happy and a millionaire to boot. Knowledge and understanding are achieved through learning, observation, experience, reasoning, and demonstration. The author offers his understanding and perception through the life and worldview of an immigrant, providing an interesting and insightful prospective. Readers will be informed and entertained on topics of history, diverse cultures, anecdotes and works of fine art. Adel’s story is a case study in the boundless maze of wellbeing following a model of values-based wellness thus considering and explaining his motivations. Adel is one immigrant to Canada who made good through embracing the values that contribute to happiness and provide a prototype of an immigrant from the Middle East to North America. Busker and the Trees outlines the values that guided Adel throughout his life and what has influenced his eight decades residing in Egypt, England and Canada illuminating how to make wise choices with the balls in the air the reader may be dealt.