The Road Beneath Our Feet

Field Guide To The Found

When you write the guide, you must use phrases like
“This guide assumes no previous knowledge…”
”Symbols … warn the user of [the] aggressive, toxic or dangerous …”
“Informal terms, such as race, phase, form and variant are descriptive of population 
structure … and relate to differences that are not represented in formal classification …”

Each entry must begin with a statement describing conspicuous features,
so that the user can quickly decide if he or she is on the right track.
The guide must also include information as to whether the specimen or its relatives 
are rare and/or endangered.

With the guide in hand, the seeker may be confident.
But ultimately it is the author’s responsibility to caution the reader:
“Look up, look away, 
there are too many ephemera—shy angels, myriad reflections of the divine –
that can escape your sight and be forever lost.”

— Maria van Beuren