You know that fall is here and winter comes soon when the summer people leave and Maine is restored to righteousness.

So says celebrated essayist John Gould in this wonderful collection inspired by the changing of the seasons in Maine. These forty-nine essays revel in the seasonal magnificence the state has to offer and offer just enough humor, seasoned with country lore and wisdom to keep you turning the pages as you read in front of the wood stove on a cold winter afternoon.

No wonder the critic Mark Kramer said, If there is reincarnation, I’m selfish enough to wish that the next time around John Gould would come back as a writer again.