Bette Midler, now 75 years old, said she draws her inspiration from the great outdoors.
In an interview that aired Tuesday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America," Midler held up a gourd as an example of nature's "magic."
She was answering the question, "Where is the magic these days, Bette?"
"I'd have to say outdoors," Midler said. "I mean, every plant, every leaf, every flower, every bird, every animal -- every day I'm astonished by it. I mean, even an acorn. I'm just -- I just--"
She reached for a gourd and held it up as an example.
"How did that happen?" Midler asked, referring to the decorative gourd. "How did they do that? Look at it. It's perfect. The proportions are perfect, the color is perfect. Look at these segments. How do they do that? It's much more beautiful than -- this," she said, holding up a black tape dispenser.
Midler is promoting her new children's book, "The Tale of the Mandarin Duck: A Modern Fable," which comes out today.
The book is based on an actual mandarin duck that arrived in New York's Central Park in 2018 and "excited all this curiosity," as Midler put it.
"It was actually kind of wonderful, because it pulled the city together, and people ran up to the park in droves and taking his picture, and I was just transported by him. Mostly because of the way his face looked. You know, a little glint in his eye and he looked so incredibly curious."
Midler described her book as a "love letter to New York," particularly all the "rare birds" who left the city years ago when "the big money came in" and they "couldn't afford to be there."