Almanacs are indispensable tools for people wishing to live in complete harmony with nature. As trackers of tides and temperatures, they studiously document the past so that future generations may predictably monitor the future, and although the most reliable are spare journals of facts and figures with a bit of folklore and whimsy thrown in for good measure, McCall\'s gift to the genre reverses that formula. Resplendent with lyrical imagery and luminous insights, McCall\'s practical and poetic chronicle of a year spent in the shadow of Maine\'s Blue Hill Mountain is a jubilant and rhapsodic celebration of nature with a capital N. Organized according to the lunar cycles, McCall\'s almanac faithfully and astutely records seasonal, climatic, botanic, and zoological happenings, then explains how such events can inspire and instruct observers in the greater ways of the world. Blue Hill Mountain is a natural tabernacle in McCall\'s eyes, a viewpoint he encourages readers to adopt about their own special place, be it stark desert canyon or sheltered backyard haven.