In the Open

The title page reads In the Open: Intimate Studies and Appreciations of Nature. An epigraph on the title page says that over and above a healthy curiosity, or any scientific acquaintance, it is the companionship of the woods and fields which counts. The preface speaks of an estate on which we pay no tax and which is not susceptible of improvement, and which is to be reached by taking the road to the nearest woods and fields. The preface says Nature is in herself a perpetual invitation to come into the open.

The writer describes a supremely mellow day, the last of October, when a pair of hermits came to a secluded spot, flitting into a white oak, where they remained regarding the writer with round bright eyes. The text says it is because the wild life is so shy and elusive that the unexpected encounters have such charm. The text says old stumps and dead branches blossom gaily and bring forth a tropic flora, and that decay is seen to be the matrix of beauty.