Go back to the original position and haul over the ropeĦ. Discard the thin line and attach a rope, anchored to the ground, to the much thicker one.ĥ. Go to where the arrow is now, the other side of the tree and haul over the thin line and the attached thicker line.Ĥ. When the arrow is fired, standing in the original place, attach a much thicker line to the line you had fixed to the ground.ģ. Attach a fine monofilament line, anchored to the ground, to an arrow which you fire over the crown of the tree.Ģ. Now I know how to climb a tree so tall that the branches don't even begin until 60-80 feet up.ġ. Read moreįascinating things you learn in books that may save your life one day if you are stuck in the woods (or not). Like the science itself, this can be thrilling if the reader is interested in the particular research topic, but I can't recommend more than skimming if you're not. I think the book does a good job of capturing the tedium of scientific research - trying the same thing or slight variations on a thing over and over again to see if you get a different result. The book was enjoyable to read in small chunks but I had to read it quickly for book club and that was not easy. His prose is easy to read, enjoyable, and never jargon-y.

Heinrich's observations are very thorough, and he's an excellent science communicator. I didn't have a problem with anything about it, but it's just a lot. He observes things such as how his captive-raised ravens interact with wild ravens, what kind and quantity of food adult ravens feed their babies, and if ravens will notice if you add or remove eggs from their nest.In contrast with the previous book read for my book club, The Truth About Animals, this is 360 pages of excruciating detail about just one animal. Based mostly in western Maine, he raises ravens from chicks, observes and experiments with wild ravens, and travels to Germany to collaborate with raven researchers there. Nature writer and researcher Bernd Heinrich describes several years of his experience with ravens.

Mind of the raven by bernd heinrich