Zooburbia

May 26, 2014
In this series of ruminative essays, Moses introduces readers to the concept of "zooburbia," the name she ascribes to the "extraordinary, unruly, half-wild realm where human and animal lives overlap." The setting is frequently the author's home, a "woodsy ravine" in Oakland she sought out after a smog-drenched childhood in Los Angeles. Moses comments on the fragility of ecosystems and notes that she swapped her vegetable garden for native plants that attract more wildlife, suggesting that readers do the same. She discusses the usefulness of all creatures, from common pests to simple goldfish to meddlesome moles. Nature's "pitiless indifference to suffering," causes occasional heartacheâincluding a baby raccoon too ill to be saved and a doomed flightless jayâand a common theme throughout is what Moses considers our responsibility toward the animals around us as well as the helplessness that often accompanies intervention. There are also more affirming essays that concern lessons on mindfulness, such as her story of a reflective ride on an Icelandic horse. Moses captures "the human desire to form an emotional bond with other creatures" and its nuanced shades of both glory and misery.

May 1, 2014
Journalist Moses shares her joy in coexisting with the wild creatures around her.After moving to suburban Oakland with her husband and cultivating a wildflower garden in her backyard that attracted birds and other wildlife, she began to appreciate the importance of urban stewardship. Drawn to the wilderness from an early age, the author explains how, where she once believed that "wild animals could be found only in a wilderness, now [she] finds wildlife everywhere: in the trees lining the sidewalks, in city parks and vacant lots...a shimmering living world of animals flourishing alongside humans." Despite the incursions on wildlife as urban development expands, by turning small patches of ground on yards, decks, terraces and rooftops into habitats, "collectively, all of these spaces add up to tremendous amounts of land." A key to this is the substitution of ornamental shrubs, flowers and manicured lawns with native plants that sustain an ecology of insects, worms, caterpillars, birds and small animals. Moses relates the couple's many adventures and mishaps with refreshing verve, beginning with a doomed plan to raise their own chickens (they provided dinner for raccoons that shared their space) and a vegetable garden that the deer munched on. They were reconciled to give up farming and happily coexist with the animals already in residence. Yet when Moses witnessed a hawk with a jay in its jaws, she confronted her own ambivalence about this threat to the harmony of her little universe; and she vigilantly restrained her her cat and dog. "When the conditions in my backyard can support the presence of the monarch butterfly, that is happiness," she writes, but there is also the pain of accepting the reality of predator and prey, life and death.A light, pleasing meditation on the joy of mindfully observing nature.

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September 1, 2014

Moses (former AlterNet.org editor; journalist) intersperses Buddhist wisdom with her nature lover's observant perspective in this essay collection that maintains that as humans increasingly invade natural areas, we need to be more cognizant of the animals we are displacing and those with which we may find ourselves cohabitating. These animal encounters take many shapes, according to Moses--the sparrows that have managed to find their way into home-improvement stores, the exotic animals for sale at pet stores, the feral-cat communities that are increasingly on the rise in urban areas, and the goldfish serving as advertising totems. Any opportunity to interact with another species is sacred, says the author, and offers the occasion for reflection and mindfulness. These interactions serve to highlight our interconnectedness in a world in which people seem to feel more and more isolated. Buddhist quotes throughout the essays punctuate Moses's thesis. While at times humorous and occasionally sad, the pieces are always engaging and are complemented by black-and-white linocuts. VERDICT Highly recommended for those who search out solace and inspiration in the natural world or wish to do so.--Diana Hartle, Univ. of Georgia Science Lib., Athens

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