Beyond the Turn Around

Name: Beyond the Turn Around
Author: Liesel Hamilton
ISBN: 9780813081977

Witnessing Florida’s Hidden Seasons

by Liesel Hamilton

Published by: University Press of Florida

Through close observations of nature from the vantage point of the Wakulla River, this book reveals the subtle patterns of Florida’s seasons, helping readers attune themselves to the state’s unique seasonality.

156 Pages6.00 × 9.004 b/w illus., map, index

Paperback
9780813081977
Published: April 6, 2027

$28.00

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EPUB
9780813075983
Published: April 6, 2027

(Ebook delivery via Leaf eReader app.)

$18.99

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Praise

Discover the patterns of Florida’s seasons through a close look at nature over time

Seasons are more than measures of time. They mark ecological turning points and stir collective memories. Although Florida is often seen as seasonless, Beyond the Turn Around reveals a different story. Liesel Hamilton highlights the state’s subtle natural shifts, helping readers attune themselves to Florida’s unique seasonality.

From the vantage point of the Wakulla River, which flows from Wakulla Springs through the St. Marks watershed toward the gulf in Florida’s Big Bend region, Hamilton looks and listens to changes observers might miss at first, like shifts in water clarity, plant life, and animal behavior. Red coral bean flowers bloom and then berry. The trumpet call of the sandhill crane signals the start of autumn. Manatees and alligators seek refuge from the winter cold. Hooded mergansers and spoonbills make their circuitous routes through the waterways.

Through patterns of movement and reproduction, molting and migration, blooming, seeding, and fruiting, readers will come away with a new, more nuanced understanding of what makes Florida’s spring, summer, fall, and winter. Blending lyrical narrative with ecological research, Beyond the Turn Around invites readers to reflect on their own relationship to the landscapes they inhabit.

Liesel Hamilton is assistant professor of writing at the University of Florida. She is coauthor of Wild South Carolina: A Field Guide to Parks, Preserves, and Special Places, and her work has appeared in Audubon, Bellevue Literary Review, Catapult, The Normal School, and other publications.

“Hamilton offers a lyrical, multisensory meander through northern Florida’s rich and watery habitats across four seasons. She unpacks the myth of the endless summer that has shaped the Sunshine State. Her personal narrative is both a love letter to the landscape as well as a cautionary vision of the future for the constantly migrating birds and humans who have built their lives on sands now radically shifting.”—Georgann Eubanks, author of The Fabulous Ordinary: Discovering the Natural Wonders of the Wild South
“It’s a common belief that Florida doesn’t have distinct seasons, but Liesel Hamilton knows better. Read this book to discover a Florida that you may not have experienced or even known existed!”—Lucinda Faulkner Merritt, water advocate
“This beautifully written work of nature writing sparkles with the author’s love of Florida and the Wakulla River.”—Mark Walters, author of Florida Scrub-Jay: Field Notes on a Vanishing Bird
“Hamilton assures doubters that Florida does indeed experience seasons despite a pervasive subtropical climate. Her evidence is found in an examination of relevant weather events, history, and culture. In essence, this story argues for wisdom gained in close examination of the natural world—a behavior available to everyone.”—Kelby Ouchley, author of Bayou D’Arbonne Swamp: A Naturalist's Memoir of Place

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Beyond the Turn Around

Witnessing Florida’s Hidden Seasons

Beyond the Turn Around

Witnessing Florida’s Hidden Seasons

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