About the Book
Book: A Season on the WindAuthor: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Genre: Amish Fiction
Release date: October 5, 2021
Ben Zook had only two loves in his life: books and birds. In a stroke of good fortune, he’d stumbled onto a way to cobble together those two loves into a career, writing books about rare birds. He was as free as a bird–until a chase for a rare White-winged Tern takes him to the one place on earth he planned to never return: his Amish home in Stoney Ridge.
Desperate for photographs of the elusive tern, Ben hires a local field guide, Micah Weaver, and boards at Micah’s farm, planning to “bag the bird” and leave Stoney Ridge before anyone recognizes him. But he neglected to plan for Micah’s sister, Penny. One long-ago summer, Penny had introduced Ben to birding, even sharing with him a hidden eagle aerie. That eagle became his spark bird–the one that inspired his lifelong love.
Ben. He was Penny’s spark bird. That was when she knew true love. She’d always hoped Ben would come back to Stoney Ridge. Back to his Amish roots. Back to her. The only problem? Ben has absolutely no memory of Penny.
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My Thoughts
A Season on the Wind is another delightful visit with Suzanne Woods Fisher to her Amish community of Stoney Ridge.
This story is a good one for a number of reasons. The characters are fun to get to know. Learning their backgrounds and where they fit into the story at hand keeps things moving at a comfortable pace and leads up to some unexpected twists. If you have read some of Suzanne Woods Fisher's other books, you are likely to recognize some "old friends" from Stoney Ridge. The story has a nice amount of romance and engaging interactions involving friends, family, and other relationships.
One of the major themes in the book is quite a unique one -- much of the story is built around some of the main characters' involvement in birding. There are fun pieces woven in between chapters with facts about birds, as well as nice little thoughts and life lessons. The author's enthusiasm about birds and her research into the Christmas Bird Count add to the interest level of the story.
About the Author
More from Suzanne
8 Facts about the Christmas Bird Count
1) The year 2021 marks the 122nd National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) which, ironically, wasn’t always about counting live birds.
2) In 1900, the first CBC was launched as an alternative to the traditional Christmas “side hunt.” This holiday tradition encouraged people to go out into the woods on Christmas Day, choose “sides” to team up with and then, in the words of Frank Chapman, “kill everything in fur or feathers that crossed their path – if they could.” The winner was the “side” with the largest pile of dead birds. (Ugh!)
3) Frank Chapman was a prominent ornithologist, conservationist, and writer/editor who published Bird Lore magazine. He led the charge to end to this senseless slaughter and invited his readers to begin a new holiday tradition of counting, rather than shooting, birds.
4) Twenty-seven people participated in 25 counts that first year (in 1900). They counted 90 species of birds.
5) The idea caught on. Big time.
6) During December and January of each year, thousands of Christmas Bird Counts take place across the U.S., Canada, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. The purpose of the CBC is a scientific census—to assess the health of bird populations and help guide conservation action.
7) Each CBC has an established 15-mile diameter circular count area. On a pre-arranged date, registered teams go out (with an assigned volunteer observer) and count the number of birds of each species they can identify within their assigned area. Each count has a volunteer compiler who sums up all of the lists and inputs the total numbers for each species into Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count database.
8) The CBC is the longest-running citizen science project and wildlife survey in the world. In fact, the CBC is considered the gold standard in citizen science.
And you don’t have to be an experienced birdwatcher to participate in the CBC! Bird lovers of all skills are welcomed. Even me! I’m a very enthusiastic amateur.
To learn more about the Christmas Bird Count, or to find a survey near you, go to https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count
To learn more about Suzanne and the story about the Christmas Bird Count featured in A Season on the Wind, go to www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.
Blog Stops
The Avid Reader, October 23
Lighthouse-Academy, October 23
She Lives To Read, October 24
lakesidelivingsite, October 24
Southern Gal Loves to Read, October 24
Artistic Nobody, October 25 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)
For Him and My Family, October 25
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 26
CarpeDiem, October 26
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 26
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 27
Inklings and notions, October 27
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 28
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, October 28
Blogging With Carol, October 28
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, October 29
Texas Book-aholic, October 29
deb’s Book Review, October 30
Simple Harvest Reads, October 30 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Jeanette’s Thoughts, October 30
Locks, Hooks and Books, October 31
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, October 31
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, November 1
SusanLovesBooks, November 1
Mary Hake, November 1
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 2
Blossoms and Blessings, November 2
Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, November 3
Splashes of Joy, November 3
Pause for Tales, November 3
By The Book, November 4
The Meanderings of a Bookworm, November 4
Little Homeschool on the Prairie, November 5
Spoken from the Heart, November 5
Vicky Sluiter, November 5
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Suzanne is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/126b3/a-season-on-the-wind-celebration-tour-giveaway
Pam, Thank you for sharing your excellent review!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful book and one that I will really enjoy!
ReplyDelete