One author, three books, two topics – Lehigh Valley Press
Frederic Buse recently published three books on two very different subjects.
Two are about climate change effects that he says he measured over many years in his backyard: “Trends Due to Climate Change” (431 pages; hardcover $64.99, paperback $54.99, 2025; Author’s Tranquility Press) and “Lifestyles of Back Yard Birds and How They Are Affected By Climate Change” (209 pages; hardcover $36.99, paperback $26.99, 2025; Author’s Tranquility Press).
The other is a book of observations and advice about dealing with Alzheimer’s disease based on his experiences with his late wife Dorothy: “A Caregiver’s Tips” (with contributor Marie Meyer, 57 pages, hardcover $16.99, paperback $7.99, 2024; Author’s Tranquility Press).
Buse moved to the Lehigh Valley in 1969 when he became chief engineer of the commercial pump division of the then new Allentown Ingersoll Rand plant. The backyard of his South Whitehall Township home was the setting for his observations about the climate.
“Trends” is about his record of the changes in the flora, fauna and weather for over 35 years.
“Lifestyles” focuses on bird species.
At a restaurant in Allentown, Buse says in the accent associated with Long Island, where he was raised, “We were all one big happy family, the birds, squirrels and chipmunks. The birds used to yell at me if I didn’t feed them. When I fed them during a blizzard, there were twice as many in the yard. Somehow they knew.”
Each book has colorful photos and graphs, which Buse meticulously complied. Says Buse, “‘Trends’ was originally 1,100 pages, but no publisher wanted anything that big.”
Buse says that from 2013 to 2024, the yard lost and gained 13 species of birds. This was most likely because of warming temperatures, he says.
“In the nineties, people started talking about climate change, and I thought there might be something to it. The trend line showed the temperature going up consistently over time.”
The recording of such changes is called phenology. “Worldwide, it is a big deal. I have sent data to Cornell University since 1986. It sends out a report at the end of the year,” he says. Cornell’s “Nature’s Notebook” is a monitoring program for citizen scientists to contribute to a national database.
“Backyards” has descriptions of bird behavior. For example, “A cardinal will hiss like a cat when it is disturbed. A blue jay can imitate the sound of a hawk.” Buse says that there is a “pecking order” for species that determines territory and access to food.
During much of the time he was compiling the information, Bose was caring for his wife during her nine-year struggle with Alzheimer’s.
“Originally, her mother had it, and at first we didn’t know what it was. My wife asked me if it happened to her, ‘Please don’t put me in a home.’” Since he had just retired, Buse was able to fulfill her request.
“A lot of people don’t know what to do, and are unprepared,” says Buse. “A Caregiver’s Tips” includes such topics as legal issues, seeking medical advice, personal interactions, caregiver relief, meals, recreation, medication, hospice and funeral arrangements.
As the disease progressed, Buse says, “She could not recognize me face to face, but could recognize my voice when I stood behind her.
“She would have conversations with imaginary people about subjects I did not know she knew anything about. It is amazing what the mind goes through,” Buse says.
Buse says his next book will be a memoir about country living, “Try and Find Us,” the name of the Bloomsbury, N.J., home and five-acre property where Buse and his wife lived before they moved to the Lehigh Valley.
Frederic Buse’s website: www.fredericbuse.com
“Literary Scene” is a column about authors, books and publishing. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com
Frederic Buse
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