Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-168)

1. The Vivaldi option -- 2. Knock'em down storm and other Indigenous seasons -- 3. Five very Australian seasons -- 4. Sprinter, the early spring: August and September -- 5. Sprummer, the cranky one: October and November -- 6. The long hot summer: December to March -- 7. Autumn's fat spiders and fungi: April and May -- 8. Wakeful winter: June and July -- 9. Changing seasons -- List of illustrations -- Endnotes -- Bibliography.

Since 1788, Australia has carried the yoke off four European seasons that make no sense in most parts of the country. We may like them for historical or cultural reasons, or because they are the same throughout the world, but they tell us nothing of our natural environment. It is time to reject those seasons and to adopt a system that brings us more in tune with our plants and animals! This book opens with the origins and theory of the traditional seasonal system, and goes on to review the Aboriginal seasonal classifications used across Australia. Entwisle then proposes a new five-season approach, explaining the characteristics of each season, along with the biological changes that define them. His final chapter considers climate change and how the seasons are shifting whether we like it or not.