In the Catskill Mountains: A Personal Approach to Nature

Walt Meade's close encounter with a rare Catskill coyote is only one of many intimate moments described by the author. Growing up on the edge of a small town or working on a rugged hillside farm, Walt felt a fascination for wild things not always shared by those who had to earn a living from the land.

He tells of the pure enjoyment of nature by the young boy, the demands of rural life when growing to manhood and the sheer delight in everything "wild" in maturity.

With patience born of reverence, Walt sought out the private lives of the creatures who lived and struggled beyond- and sometimes within- his garden gate. His discovery of the magic of the camera made the challenge even greater- to capture through the lens the beautiful and fleeting, the rare and elusive life in the unnoticed corners of the untamed places around him.

Walter F. Meade is a wildlife photographer specializing in portraits of animals and birds of the Northeast. He was a famer for 30 years in the Catskills, and before his retirement in 1980, he served at the Manhattan County School Farm for 10 years, first as a farmer and nature instructor, and then as a director. His nature writing and photography have appeared in numerous regional publications.