Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebooks

by David M. Carroll

The writer, naturalist, and artist David Carroll illuminates the ecology and life histories the tree frogs, hawks, foxes, and the increasingly rare wood and spotted turtles he has been tracking for decades with the precision and passion that won him a 2006 MacArthur "genius" award.

Following theWater is the intensely observed chronicle of Carroll’s annual March-to-November wetlands immersion—from the joy of the first turtle sighting in March to the gorgeously described, vibrant trilling of tree frogs ("lichen with eyes") in late May to the ancient sense of love and loss Carroll experiences each autumn when it is time once again to part with open water.

Illustrated with the author’s fine pen-and-ink drawings, Following theWater is a gorgeous evocation of nature, an utterly unique "admission ticket to a secret corner of the world" (Bill McKibben).

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Art, Ecology, Natural History, Animals

186 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book. I actually choked up at the beginning.

A quiet book.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

much more hopeless and sad compared to "swampwalkers journal" but still his incomparable eye for detail, natural history, and web of life. sad because he sees more and more our destruction of said web. david carroll is a national treasure and should be listened to.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pen and ink drawings in the book are as beautiful and life-like as anything I've seen. Snakes, frogs and lots of turtles, the real stars of the book. Following the Water deserves a place on your shelves for this reason alone.

I would have liked to have learned more about these beautiful creatures. I had hope when the author wrote about the apparent delicacy that is turtle legs to racoons, otters and other predators. However, there was precious little of that. Instead, the author tells us about himself looking for and at the scenery. For example, in just one page, the following insight on trees is offered:

Touching trees has always grounded me. Before I knew their names I knew them by their feel, by the colors and textures of their leaves and bark, the ground on which they stood....I touch them at each coming and going throughout the seasons....Some I touch day after day for weeks on end, others but once in several years. Some I have touched only once in decades; some I will never touch again because they have been taken away or because I cannot bear to go back to where they stand....I come back to tree bark and shadow, intervals of bird song and silence, the voice of the wind, the streamlet in the silent slipping by...back to a day in the swamp in boyhood when I had a sense in the present of a day in some deep past.

Want to know about turtle migration? There's this instead:

I come here during the spotted turtles' migrations, the season of so many returnings, to stand by this sentinel tree and watch the season for a while. When the turtle migrations end, I leave the pine to the rest of the year. Whenever I am here or in any of the places I am deeply drawn to, I feel a connectedness, a filling in of some profound, vague emptiness. I need to be empty of all distractions. I come to forget and to remember....I come also to know where to be....I come to meet the day, and the day comes to me.

This navel-contemplating crap goes on for the book's entirety.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the Water is similar to Carroll's previous book, Swampwalker's Journal: A Wetlands Year. Both books are accounts of Carroll's visits to local wetlands with poetic descriptions and beautiful illustrations. However, unlike Swampwalker's Journal, this book is less of a list-like documentation of the plants and animals seen on his walks, and it contains more musings on land ethic.

While I found the majority of the book insightful, I took some issue with the final chapter, "Boundary Marker". In this chapter, Carroll laments that a wetland he visits has been placed into a conservation land trust. He talks about moving "beyond conservation to preservation." His biggest issue seems to be that even non-consumptive outdoor recreation slowly degrades natural areas. While I don't disagree, it seems rather hypocritical since he himself has enjoyed the privilege of walking through this wetland. In fact, many of his own activates (e.g., picking up turtles) would be quite disruptive if done regularly by multiple people. This gives the sense that he wants the wetland reserved for him and only him. Unfortunately, there is no place on earth that is unimpacted by humans. Allowing for some sustainable recreation often helps protect areas from development because we humans have a skewed and self-serving view of the value of nature.

Disclaimer: I am a wildlife biologist who also has the privilege of working in natural areas closed to the public. These are areas with endangered species that are highly sensitive to disturbance. I too would lament if they were opened to the public. I don't know enough about the particulars of this specific wetland to judge; I only feel that the topic is more nuance than expressed in Carroll's final chapter.

[Correen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once in awhile I read a wonderful book that is simply not meant for me. Carroll writes beautiful prose in essays that are meditations. They are for those fortunate persons who love to spend hours exploring the detailed beauty of wetlands. He waxes eloquent about spotted turtles and recognizes turtles he has met throughout his many years off exploring a specific wetland. He walks the area every day for the better part of each year.

I will pass this book on to a friend who will appreciate both the writing and the details.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My uncle actually picked up this book for me from a little free library and I am so glad he did. This book is hardcore on the naturalist side of things and while the average person might enjoy it I could see the talk about turtles becoming a bit boring after a while. I particularly loved the stories about the grey fox and the dead buck. Overall a nice short read, Carroll has great insight on the world around us.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long while to finish this book as I would read a bit and then put it down for a month.
Left me with a lot to ponder; somewhat melancholy and poetic.
If you enjoyed A Sand County Almanac then you might find this book interesting.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetic prose and illustrations. It took me a long time to read the book, because it saddened me with the confirmation that we are not protecting wild environments and respecting the other species we are meant to share with.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a relaxing book like walking along listening to a expert telling what to look for

[Joe Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful descriptions of nature. Not the easiest read.

[Sharon Gallager · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, meditative reflection of a naturalist's journeys along a waterway over time.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations and maps are a feast for the eyes!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

While sad at times, this was a very calming and enjoyable read. The amazing descriptions of the natural environment being explored made me feel like I was wading along side the author!

[Frankie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dnf 50% - Honestly a lovely book I’m just not in my non-fiction era. Will return to this

[Todd Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not quite sure why ‘Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook’ was written. It’s essentially nothing more than a poetic description of a walk in a marsh, but little information is conveyed in its telling. Seeing and experiencing nature oneself can certainly be rewarding, having someone describe a natural scene may not be terribly interesting though, particularly if that description is limited to the external scene and fails to expand beyond the surficial to any thoughts or feelings that the view might inspire.

“A flock of common grackles settles noisily into the high red maple canopy, each one a jet black bird silhouette distinct in the smoky blur of upper branches and the crowning glow of red-sienna twig tips, bright red buds, and flowers.”

Nice enough, but this really should lead somewhere shouldn’t it? Instead, it leads to more prose:

“Swamp sparrows continue their flitting and calling in the alder and royal fern mounds darkening around me. Water glides by in a silent sheet, brightening as the alders go black.”

The entire book follows along these lines, fluffy and insubstantial … not unlike a flitting swamp sparrow. Though it failed to hold my interest for very long, with its short length and big typeface it didn’t have to.

[Jeff DeRosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This read like another person's journal rather than a book. It appeared as if the author didn’t actually want to share this observed habitat with me. It felt like if I asked to go for a walk with him he’d begrudgingly say “yes” and conversation on that walk would be awkward. After all, more people in this land than Carroll might turn it into a “human theme park” (p. 182).

For this reason I had difficulty appreciating Carroll’s clear passion for ecology. But I can understand why others would enjoy Carroll’s observations. He does offer some gems, particularly in the first half of the book which describes a season’s nuances with greater depth than the latter half of the book. Overall, this is good writing. And you might like it. However, I think your time might be better spent in Nature making your own observations.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listening to the audiobook, read by the author. I miss being able to see the beautiful drawings of turtles and other marsh dwellers with which he illustrates his books, but the audiobook features lovely recordings of frogs and birds and water. The only drawback is the author's sadness at the state of the natural world that permeates the book. I read so many books, articles and essays telling how we're ruining the world. I was hoping that this book would just be an exploration of the wetlands he loves.

[Louise Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is lovely and sad. Following the history of place through the inhabitants: the turtles, Carroll uses prose, drawings, and the naturalist's tools to "follow the water". The ultimate question is not "can we save the turtles and or their habitat?", but "can we save ourselves?" Carroll is the first writer I have encountered who bluntly addresses the population explosion as being the most pervasive and pernicious problem that humans face.

[Kate McNierney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally beautiful book. I loved the deep connection to place the author has and the way he records the passage of time. Lovely descriptions of mayflies, turtles, frogs, toads and all things related to wetlands. In the final chapter he talks about conservation vs preservation.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very lovely prose-Mr. Carroll has a way with words. But he didn't include alot of scientific information about the birds, turtles and frogs that he writes about. I would have liked to have more substance.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Carroll expresses himself in a lovely poetic prose full of romantic language and expression as free-flowing as the river waters he writes about. His fascination with turtles is. . . fascinating.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Loved the drawings but disliked the book. I was disturbed by the number of turtles that lost legs or parts of them. I hasten to add that wasn't why I didn't like the book - I just really didn't get it.

[Pennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

How did he not step on something living?

[Leslye Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written book. The drawings are quite lovely as well. I mostly enjoyed seeing nature through David's eyes.

[Oriana]

National Book Award nominee