Goodreads asked Katherine Hauswirth:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Katherine Hauswirth A long time ago, knowing I wanted to write about nature, I brought an acorn home. It sat on my desk for some time, not inspiring much in the way of prose (or poetry, for that matter). But that simple act was the start of an idea, and the start of a mindset. I started collecting more items from nature in a shoe box that my son had labeled and colored for me--our Cabinet of Curiosity.
The original title of The Book of Noticing was actually Cabinet of Curiosity, but it morphed over time. As I collected various talismans from nature, I also realized that being in nature was helping me make all kinds of connections with life around me, and with deep thought and my spiritual side, hence the subtitle, "Collections and Connections on the Trail."
As I spent increasing time in nature, I learned that noticing what is around me is so very important, that paying attention--full attention!--is so important. I took up the torch that, for me, started with Mary Oliver. She said, in a poem, that "My work is loving the world." She also pointed out that "Attention is the beginning of devotion."

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