As a society we rely on clocks as our primary timekeeper. But what about the cues evident in the natural world – the sound of animal calls, the folding of petals, the movement of the stars? In this spellbinding debut, Cathy Haynes goes in search of the many lost ways – so familiar to our ancestors – that nature marks time. From the honeysuckle flower whose sweet-sharp aroma intensifies at dusk, to the fiddler crab that matches its rhythms to the lunar and solar cycles. On this journey, we’ll discover that to devote an evening to tracing the stars might help us savour the fullness of the moment; and to notice that the daily routines of swallows and blackbirds could bring us forms of companionship that lift us out of narrow human concerns. Charming, gentle and wise, The Fullness of Time is a chance to realign ourselves with the daily rhythms of the natural world and a reminder to pay attention to the wonders before us – if only we look around.