The Quarry Fox

A red fox stands poised at the edge of its den, ears perked for danger as two fox kits frolic nearby. A black bear and her cubs hibernate beneath a felled tree. A barred owl snags a hapless cottontail from a meadow. In The Quarry Fox and Other Critters of the Wild Catskills, Leslie T. Sharpe Trains her keen eye and narrative gifts on these and other wildlife in her observations as a naturalist living in the Great Western Catkills.

The Quarry Fox is the first in-depth study of Catskill wildlife since John Burroughs essentially invented the nature-writing genre in the 19th century. In these pages, Sharpe deftly weaves her experiences with the seasons, plants and creatures with their natural history, revealing their sensitivity to and resilience against the splendor and cruelty of Nature. Written in Sharpe's signature lyric style, The Quarry Fox is destined to take its place as a classic of the genre of American nature-writing, and proves that Sharpe, a lifelong naturalist and avid birder, is Burroughs's worthy successor.



With echoes of Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Sharpe's frank, scientific observations join with her deeply felt connection to these creatures to instill in readers an appreciation of the undaunted and variegated beauty of the Catskills and camaraderie with its animals. From contemplating the importance of milkweed for monarchs to lay their eggs to reveling in the first steps of a wobbly fawn, The Quarry Fox is a celebration of the natural world and our place in itl.