A few months ago, a GR friend reviewed this book and it sounded like just the sort of thing I'd love. Sadly, when trying to locate a copy I found out it isn't readily available in the U.S. (I'm still baffled as to why an e-book isn't available, but I also know nothing about copyright and publishing laws and business arrangements). When I traveled to the U.K. a few weeks ago this book (and a few others) were top on the list of souvenirs to bring home.

This book was a pure joy to read. John Lewis-Stempel is a keen observer who has the patience -- and the passion -- to see in nature what so many others would miss. He has a deep-rooted connectedness to the land throughout every season. His writing is exquisite, and by use of all of his senses he transports his readers to that English meadow in Herefordshire. In an age when so many books about the earth are bleak and leave readers with a feeling of despair, Lewis-Stemple manages to addresses ecological concerns, but keeps the focus on celebrating the beauty and natural rhythms of his field.

I dog-eared at least 3 dozen pages and underlined numerous passages so I could easily find them in the future. As a closing thought, I will share the following:

"To stand alone in a field in England and listen to the morning chorus of the birds is to remember why life is precious...I will proselytize on behalf of the dawn chorus. If you rise at dawn in May you can savour the world before the pandemonium din of the Industrial Revolution and 24/7 shopping...There's an evening chorus too, and it is best enjoyed on a day like this, when the light is seductive in white veils, and there is enough moisture in the dusk air to intensify the floral incense of the spring meadow...Oh, the joy to be alive in England, in Meadowland, once May is here." ( )

Charming book design; I especially enjoyed the illustrations, which include a map. The annotated bibliography, “A Meadowland Library,” complete with suggested soundtrack, perfectly concludes the book. The design might be a little too much of a good thing, seeming as it does to promise a sort of bucolic, idealized nature, such that I found myself flinching at the dispassionate descriptions of nature’s violence. Chapter 7, July, is five star glorious. ( )

A beautiful book from a wonderful writer.

The reader is transported to a working Herefordshire farm where they journey through the life of a real, English meadow from Jan 1st to Dec 31st, wonderfully detailing what most wouldn't notice but what, to a meadow, are crucially important aspects of its eco system.

Sadly, and i mean extremely so, farmers like John are being driven out and intensive farming is systematically destroying not only the countryside fauna and flora, but also England as a sustainable island. But it is heartening to know that the real countryside and those that care for it are still out there and keeping these isolated islands of Nature alive so that hopefully, one day, if its not too late, we can wake up and stop the intensive farming and remake our countryside - fingers crossed.

I will certainly be reading more of John's books in the future and totally recommend this one to anyone with even the slightest interest in the Nature of rural England. ( )

Dont be deceived, beyond the simple idea, a farmers jottings about one field over the course of a year, is riveting. Not just any farmer of course. One of many preceding generations, who lived and absorbed all the daily going on this one field that he knows intimately. Not a blinkered look, but a far ranging inquisitive look, thinking, examining, researching and sharing a life's wealth of knowledge, experiences and cultural absorption brought to attention by the simple everyday events that occur within this one field.
A gentle read but packed with attention grabbing accounts, reflections, vernacular oddities, poetry and deep wildlife knowledge. Occasionally, briefly the wording get a tad flowery but then another gem of information smacks between the eyes.
If you care about the world we live in, the landscape we have inherited, the damage we have wrought to it and the resilience of nature to get-by despite all we have done and are doing, then this is a must read. It will leave you with a thirst for more natural life knowledge and hope for a future. ( )

Wonderful nature writing that brought me back to all the books I loved as a child: Gerald Durrell, James Herriot, Richard Adams and Joy Adamson.
He writes about the year, from month to month, of the intimate life of one meadow on the border of Wales and England, not far from where I grew up and rambled around in the countryside.
He has the eyes of a child, the inclinations of a farmer and the patience of a old-time naturalist.
This isn't at all fluffy; sometimes nature "is red in tooth and claw"
All in all a very satisfying little book. ( )