The writer, naturalist, and artist David Carroll illuminates the ecology and life histories of the tree frogs, hawks, foxes, and the increasingly rare wood and spotted turtles he has been tracking for decades with the precision and passion that won him a 2006 MacArthur "genius" award. Following the Water is the intensely observed chronicle of Carroll's annual wetlands immersion, from the joy of the first turtle sighting in March to the gorgeously described, vibrant trilling of tree frogs ("lichen with eyes") in late May to the ancient sense of love and loss Carroll experiences each autumn when it is time once again to part with open water.

Narrated by the author, portions of this audiobook were recorded on location in New Hampshire, in the same woods and along the same streams that Carroll travels. This production is enhanced with the sounds of the natural environment, making it an evocative nature journal for the ear.