Thursday, July 26, 2012

this voice of the cool and the dusk


I bought two little green books today, at my local antiques collective.  Nature's Diary, by Francis H. Allen, was published in 1897. 


There is an entry for each day of the year. On the left page are two dates with quotations. The dates on the right note birds or flowers one might expect to see, and there is space for the owner to make notes. In the preface the author states "I have tried to have each selection fit its day as exactly as possible... Every selection has passed a rigid examination upon two points,--scientific accuracy and poetic value,-- so that neither requirement has been sacrificed to the other."

 I love the seriousness and care with which he approached this endeavor.


A closer look at today's entry. Apparently the whip-poor-will should be out and about. I have strong memories of them from my childhood, but not so much in recent years. Edith M. Thomas calls the whip-poor-will "this voice of the cool and the dusk, this cloistered melodist..." Poetic indeed.



Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music, by F. Schuyler Mathews--bird lover, composer, and artist, was originally published in 1904; my edition is 1921. Mathews took it upon himself to transcribe the songs of birds, to help watchers identify them. What an undertaking! There's a nice little NPR piece about it that you can listen to here. It includes a playing of Mathew's whip-poor-will notations on the flute, as well as a recording of the bird with the onomatopoeic name. About the whip-poor-will Mathews writes: "There is something uncanny about the nocturnal bird and his strange song...The song is weird, there is nothing like it in all the category of Nature's music..."



I am going to the Catskills tomorrow, and will be listening for whip-poor-wills. Do you ever hear them?

Jen
p.s. See Karen's comment below about how both books can be uploaded from Googlebooks, for free.

21 comments:

  1. Love the books..New follower also in NYS and on etsy. Come take a peek at my blog too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Just took a look at your lovely blog. Shelley from Bow Street Flowers loves donkeys. I'm going to send her your way!

      Delete
  2. That was lovely, Jen. The books have wonderful art nouveau covers, and I really enjoyed the NPR bit. So now I have downloaded the book free on Google Books. And I see Mathews also wrote field guides for wildflowers, trees and more. What a fine discovery. No whip-or-wills here, but we do have the western meadow lark, which is also melodious, with a song much different from the eastern meadow lark, according to my guide.

    Nature's Diary can also be downloaded for free. Have a nice weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen, that's fabulous! Thanks for the tip. His passion for his work is so evident when you look at the books. I look forward to checking out the others.

      Delete
  3. The idea of tresforming birds' song into music notes is wonderful! I heard the song by American Robin for the first time thanks to you. I think whip-poor-wills aren't here. What a fantastic name!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a wonderful name though it felt strange writing it with the hyphens every time.The name is supposed to sound like what the bird song sounds like. (We call that onomatopoeia.) You can hear the bird song on the NPR link.

      Delete
  4. looove the cover of Nature's Diary.
    enjoy your visit!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Jen:
    What an absolutely charming idea to have an entry each day of the year outlining what one might expect to see in Nature in the wild. This reminds us very much of the diarists Kilvert and Gilbert White who also made such observations in their respective parts of the English countryside.It all reminds one of an earlier age when there was time to stand and stare and look at Nature in all its wonder and variation at close quarters and to record it. Perfectly lovely. As is the term 'cloistered melodist', poetic indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so in love with "cloistered melodist"! I am looking forward to reading more entires to see if I can find some other gems.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What wonderful finds! I had to go check on the Whip-poor-will and found this entry, http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Whip-poor-will/id. They spell it with the hyphens also which I do find a bit odd. I don't think I've ever seen one but the song sounds familiar.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The books look great

    Busy trying to catch up on my favourite blogs
    after being away on holiday
    I have missed so much....

    Hope all is well

    Have a good weekend

    x Fiona

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've never heard a whip-poor-will, but would be thrilled to; they are romanticised in my mind by my first encountering them in one of the 'Little House' books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't remember them in the books, but it makes sense that they would be there. I think I will have to do another whip-poor-will post!

      Delete
  10. I feel like I've heard one somewhere, sometime ago.

    What a perfect book. i know just how you felt when you found it.

    Heart leapt.

    xo Jane

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was going to use that (actually " my heart skipped a beat") when I wrote the post, but I thought you'd tease me.

      Delete
  11. great finds. I doubt the google books will do them justice...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely not. But it gives you a taste of them.

      Delete
  12. Petra's right - to actually have a beautiful old copy, especially of that first book, must be really special. Whip-poor-will - is that the bird's real name, or the common name because of its bird song? Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's the common name. I will be following up with another post on the bird. I know you can't wait! :)

      Delete