Summary

In “Introduction,” the author likens her collection to a Cabinet of Curiosities: "It is full of strange things...concerned with the quality of wonder" (vii). Her essays’ endeavor to view the natural world with love, and to interrogate the tendency to believe the natural world is a reflection of humanity.

In "Nests," as a child, Macdonald had a nature collection. The only thing she would not collect were nests. She once believed nests "tied birds down," preferring to think of birds as free (3). She realizes birds have now taught her to think of home as "a place you carry within you" (3). She then considers the human detritus birds use to create nests, making their meaning both human and animal. She thinks humans are fascinated with nests because of their artisanship. Similarly, people collect eggs for their irregular markings, yet thieve...