A Coastal Companion: A Year in the Gulf of Maine from Cape Cod to Canada (Tilbury House, 2008) is a journey through the year in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed, which includes land from eastern Massachusetts to southwestern Nova Scotia. A chronicle of changes through the seasons both above and within the sea, A Coastal Companion follows the arrival and departure of migrating shorebirds in spring and fall, schools of fish as they move in and out of our region, and the natural cycles of our bays, rivers, marshes, and coastal forests. Part field guide, part almanac, the book also highlights writers, artists, and scientists who have chosen the Gulf of Maine as their subject matter.
“A wonderful scientific treasury that explores the enormity, complexity and inter-relationships between the land and sea and all the creatures of both worlds.” —Kennebec Journal
“From the bounty of this book, I have made a list of subjects I want to know more about. One by one, I will track them down, and in doing so am brought more deeply home.” –Susan Shetterly, Down East Magazine
“There isn’t a dull day in the whole year” —Quoddy Tides
“Atmospheric” —The Boston Globe
Featuring poems by Patricia Ranzoni, Annaliese Jakimides, Kristen Lindquist, Leonore Hildebrandt, Elizabeth Tibbetts, Ellen Goldsmith, Cheryl Daigle, Candice Stover, Jan Bailey, Gus Bombard, and the late Burt Hatlen. Illustrations by Kimberleigh Martul-March and Margaret Campbell.
Catherine Schmitt 