Nature at Your Doorstep: A Nature Trails Book (Wardlaw Books)

With John and Gloria Tveten as your guides, even a walk across an empty lot can turn into a memorable lesson in the abundance of life.

For more than two decades, the Tvetens’ weekly “Nature Trails” column in the Houston Chronicle introduced readers to the miracles of nature that surround them every day. Nature at Your Doorstep gathers in one volume some of the best of these columns, revealing the bounty of plants and animals available within the familiar surroundings of home and region. With updated commentaries and original drawings, the Tvetens open our eyes to the plants and animals thriving in the backyard, the park, the campground, or the family’s vacation spot.

In addition to neighborhood flowers, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, they also take this opportunity to focus on a particular love of John Tveten’s—insects. From butterflies and beetles to mosquitoes and moths, the “six-legged horde” receives admiring treatment, revealing the huge number and variety of bugs that occupy our space. With the Tvetens’ intimate and knowledgeable descriptions, you are sure to begin viewing the nature at your doorstep in a whole new way.