"There's a kind of strength and connection that comes from being able to name things. That's why I was pleased to get a copy of Dan and Judy Dourson's impressive new field guide from South Limestone Books, an imprint of University Press of Kentucky. Their guide.is a boon to anyone who enjoys hiking and spending time at the Gorge.First I have to comment on the sheer beauty of the book. The cover design by Hayward Wilkerson employs a vintage book photo, coupled with a flower sketch, that has the effect of making the guide look well worn and frequently consulted. Plus, the pale green and gold color scheme punctuates the classic nature theme.I could easily envision this guide as the source text for workshops and classes on the biodiversity of the area.

Any plant enthusiast on a hike through Red River Gorge will want to have this book stashed in his or her backpack. As I paged through the beautiful photos and descriptions of this field guide, I was reminded of my sixth and seventh grade teacher.[who] gave us [summer] homework for science. We were charged with finding, pressing, and identifying as many leaves and wildflowers as we could find between May and August and placing them in a little field guide of our own making. About half of what I can know and name about plants in our area, I owe to that assignment. I agree with Dourson's assessment about nature when he says that, 'All life on Earth is the result of an astronomical number of chance encounters. Consequently, life is an extraordinary privilege, but life with consciousness is, without a doubt, the single greatest endowment, taking human existence to unparalleled levels of understanding' I believe that those levels of understanding to which Dourson refers begin with being able to name and cherish what lives around us. https://www.

wvxu.org/post/book-review-wildflowers-and-ferns-red-river-gorge-and-greater-red-river-basin" --.