Illumination in the Flatwoods

This is a joyful book. Much of the joy comes from the wild turkeys Joe Hutto raises from a clutch of eggs, as they investigate and appreciate their portion of north Florida woodland, but Hutto is full of the delight of animal curiosity himself. As the young birds imprint on him, accepting him as their parent and protector as they grow into independence, they leave perhaps a greater imprint on him. He records their months together with the quality of observation of Thoreau's journals, but without Thoreau's compulsion to turn every moment into metaphor. He does, though, finally come to some profound philosophical insights himself, about the comparative intelligences of humans and birds and about the eternal nature/nuture debate. And about the capacity for human and animal joy.