Burroughs was born on the family farm in the Catskill Mountains , near Roxbury in Delaware County, New York. As he labored on the family farm he was captivated by the return of the birds each spring and other wildlife around the family farm including frogs and bumblebees. In his later years he credited his life as a farm boy for his subsequent love of nature and feeling of kinship with all rural things. This book, a wonderful read, is a thorough and enjoyable biography of the great naturalist.