Coming Home


Sue Gee - 2013
    In a few months' time the British flag will be lowered all over India, and with Independence thousands of those who made their lives there - as planters, civil servants, or in the Indian army - will be returning to England.Among those coming home, as everyone speaks of it, are Will and Flo Sutherland, who fell in love at the end of the war. India has been the defining experience of their lives: how will they make a new life now?Sue Gee's new novel is filled with pathos and humour, beautifully evoking an all-but vanished world.

Darkness Sticks to Everything: Collected and New Poems


Tom Hennen - 2013
    But despite his lack of recognition, Mr. Hennen...has simply gone about his calling with humility and gratitude in a culture whose primary crop has become fame. He just watches, waits and then strikes, delivering heart-buckling lines.” —Dana Jennings, The New York Times"As with Ted Kooser, Tom Hennen is a genius of the common touch. . . . They are amazingly modest men who early accepted poetry as a calling in ancient terms and never let up despite being ignored early on. They return to the readers a thousandfold for their attentions."—Jim Harrison, from the introduction"Many readers will appreciate this evocation of a life not as commonly portrayed in contemporary verse."—Library Journal"There is something of the ancient Chinese poets in Hennen, of Clare and Thoreau, although he is very much a contemporary poet."—Willow Springs"One of the most charming things about Tom Hennen's poems is his strange ability to bring immense amounts of space, often uninhabited space, into his mind and so into the whole poem."—Robert Bly"America is a country that loves its advertising. That loves its boxes we can put people and places into. We love 'Heartland' as opposed to 'Dustbowl.' We also love to be surprised. Rural Minnesota, as written by Tom Hennen in Darkness Sticks to Everything, is a world of realistic loneliness and lessons. It’s a collection of sincere poems about man and the land."—The Rumpus"Hennen is a master of the prose poem [who] can take little details, tiny details and make them universal."—River Falls Journal"What separates Hennen from many of his contemporaries is his willingness to identify with the natural world in a way that feels neither possessive nor self-serving, but simply (once again) sincere."—Basalt Magazine"There is something strong in all Tom Hennen's poems, an awareness and a clear, sure voice... I don't usually want to end by saying 'Buy this book,' but I'm going to say it this time: 'You should buy this book.'"—Fleda Brown, Interlochen Public Radio, "Michigan Writers on the Air"Tom Hennen gives voice to the prairie and to rural communities, celebrating—with sadness, praise, and astute observations—the land, weather, and inhabitants. In short lyrics and prose poems, he reveals the detailed strangeness of ordinary things. Gathered from six chapbooks that were regionally distributed, this volume is Hennen's long-overdue introduction to a national audience. Includes an introduction by Jim Harrison and an afterword by Thomas R. Smith."In Falling Snow at a Farm Auction"Straight pine chairComfortableIn anyone's company,Older than grandmotherIt enters the presentIts arms wide openWanting to hold another young wife.Tom Hennen, author of six books of poetry, was born and raised in rural Minnesota. After abandoning college, he married and began work as a letterpress and offset printer. He helped found the Minnesota Writer's Publishing House, then worked for the Department of Natural Resources wildlife section, and later at the Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota. Now retired, he lives in Minnesota.

The Worm Forgives the Plough


John Stewart Collis - 1975
    His account of this time perfectly captures the city-dweller's naivety and wonder both at the workings of nature and the toughness of life on a farm. Collis's thoughtful curiosity leads him to explore a broad variety of subjects - from humorous sketches of the characters he works alongside to beautifully written pieces such as Contemplation Upon Ants, The Mystery of Clouds, Colloquy on the Rick and celebrations of the earthworm, the pea and potato.Includes While Following the Plough (1946) and Down to Earth (1947).Cover illustration by Angie Lewin.

Seasons of My Life


Hannah Hauxwell - 1993
    She first told her story on Yorkshire Television's award-winning "Too Long a Winter" and its sequel "A Winter Too Many".

The Easternmost House


Juliet Blaxland - 2019
    In her numbered days living in the Easternmost House, Juliet fights to maintain the rural ways she grew up with, re-connecting with the beauty, usefulness and erratic terror of the natural world.The Easternmost House is a stunning memoir, describing a year on the Easternmost edge of England, and exploring how we can preserve delicate ecosystems and livelihoods in the face of rapid coastal erosion and environmental change.

Flora Britannica


Richard Mabey - 1996
    Indeed, Flora Britannica is the definitive contemporary flora, an encyclopaedia of living folklore, a register – a sort of Domesday Book.It is unique in that it is not a botanical flora but a cultural one – an account of the role of wild plants in social life, arts, custom and landscape. It is also unique in that information has been supplied by the people themselves. Five years of intensive original research have aroused popular interest and ‘grassroots’ involvement on an exceptional scale. People all over Britain – both rural and urban – have been encouraged to record and celebrate the cultural dimensions of their own flora, and to send their memories and anecdotes, observations and regional knowledge to Flora Britannica.The result is a nationwide record of the popular culture, domestic uses and social meanings of our wild plants. It is both useful and delightful – superbly written by one of the most outstanding English authors on natural history and illustrated with nearly 500 photographs. Including trees and ferns, it covers 1,000 species, many of them in considerable detail. A new flora for the people, Flora Britannica is a testimony to the continuing relationship between nature and human beings, and a celebration that the seasons and the landscape, local character and identity, still matter in Britain.

The Remains of Elmet


Ted Hughes - 1979
    Ted Hughes, who was born and brought up in the part of the world she has captured in these atmospheric studies, was inspired by them to provide a verse text, one of the most personal things he has written.

Nature is Awesome: Fun Facts and Pictures for Kids


Speedy Publishing - 2015
    Children are interested in things like where do certain animal come from and where does the rain come from. Children are also interested in the sky and how far away it is from the ground. Nature will also teach children how animals and insects get their food. This will force children to paint a picture of this in their mind. This picture will become real to children of all ages.

Life on the Family Farm: Under an Open Heaven (Free eBook Sampler)


Tom Heck - 2014
    However, Tom quit college; his love of farming drew him back to the farm. Thirty years later, Tom picked up the pen again, drawing readers into farming adventures with him. In these exciting and uplifting true stories, he shares his love of farming, family, and God. His unique writing style brings the reader right alongside him and his family as they work on their northern Wisconsin dairy farm.Tom’s stories have spread like wildfire from his hometown newspaper to papers across America. Readers tell him, “Please don’t quit writing.” Others ask him, “When are you going to make it a book?” Due to popular demand here it is.From quotes like “Dad, I really enjoyed fixing that with you” to “She’s a dead cow don’t call me anymore,” these engaging stories will keep you turning the pages to read one story, then another. As you do, you will be blessed as so many others have been.Come, read, and enjoy our farm life with us. About the Author Tom Heck, his wife Joanne, and their two children, Catherine and Joshua, own and operate a thirty-five cow, 159-acre dairy farm in northwestern Wisconsin. Tom, having been raised on a dairy farm and now owning his own, shares with his readers the many joys, triumphs and challenges of having a small family farm in the northwoods.

Living Our Best Lives: Cannon Hall Farm


The Nicholson Family - 2021
    

PRINCESS DIANA: The True Story of the People’s Princess


Katy Holborn - 2017
     Lady Diana Spencer. One time wife of the heir to the throne and mother to two sons, one of whom will most probably one day be king. Challenger to the established protocols of the monarchy, a woman determined to do it her way. Trend setter, humanitarian, darling of the public. A person who appeared to have everything but whose life would end in tragedy at just thirty-six years of age. The People’s Princess…this is her story.

The Last American Homestead: Living Life In The Last Frontier


David Maranville - 2018
    That first trip to America’s last frontier convinced him he would one day call the state home. With heartfelt honesty and inspirational enthusiasm, Maranville here tells the story of his transition from living within the contiguous forty-eight states to homesteading north of the Arctic Circle. After serving in the US Army in Vietnam as an aircraft mechanic, he decided to file for the grant of a homesite in the Alaskan wilds. Once he’d staked the land, he faced the challenge of fulfilling the five-year land-improvement requirements prescribed by the Homestead Act. While earning his homestead, he encountered new opportunities, amazing adventures—and frightening hazards. Working as a helicopter mechanic, he soon partnered with a helicopter pilot and they began the farthest North helicopter company, Sunshine Helicopters, out of Circle City, Alaska along the Yukon River. He built his family a log cabin in the wilderness along the picturesque banks of the Ambler River, where they confronted bears, extreme cold, dangerous working conditions, and rugged landscape—and survived a devastating flood. Yet the difficulties were worth it. At last, Maranville received one of the final patents granted under the Homestead Act before the act was discontinued.

The Scottish Clans - Over 300 Clans Featured


Donald Cuthill - 2011
    Discover the events that have shaped your Clan and hear about the people who form part of your Scottish ancestry.

A Year in the Woods: The Diary of a Forest Ranger


Colin Elford - 2010
    Colin Elford spends his days alone - alone but for the deer, the squirrels, the rabbits, the birds, and the many other creatures inhabiting the woods. From the crisp cold of January, through the promise of spring and the heat of summer, and then into damp autumn and the chill winds of winter, we accompany the forest-ranger as he goes about his work - stalking in the early morning darkness, putting an injured fallow buck out of its misery, watching stoats kill a hare, observing owls, and simply being a part of the outdoors. Colin Elford immerses himself in the richly diverse and unique landscapes of Britain, existing in rhythm with natural environments. For fans of Robert Macfarlane's Landmarks, Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk orJames Rebanks' A Shepherd's Life, Colin's rare and uplifiting journey will unveil the true nature and beauty of Britain's countryside. 'This is nature for real . . . Elford describes woodland wonders in short paragraphs of luminous intensity' Daily Mail 'A poetic insight in the world of hidden Nature' Countryman 'Stalking sharpens the senses and there is an almost hallucinatory clarity to Elford's writing' Observer 'Refreshingly unsentimental. Contains some wonderful descriptions and sentences which are so profound they demand a second reading' Sunday Express Colin Elford is a forest ranger on the Dorset/Wiltshire border. Craig Taylor is the author of Return to Akenfield and One Million Tiny Plays About Britain and the editor of the magazine Five Dials.

The Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens: How to Raise a Happy Backyard Flock


Anne Kuo - 2019
    From constructing coops to rearing chicks, you’ll learn everything you need to know to make sure your chickens stay happy and healthy all year round.Which breed of chicken is right for you? What’s the best coop-bedding material? What sort of feed should you use? Let expert chicken keeper Anne Kuo answer these questions—and many others—in The Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens.The Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens includes: All cooped up—Create the perfect home for raising chickens using detailed backyard coop designs and construction guides. From chickens to eggs—Find out how to pick the right breed, raise chicks, collect eggs, keep your birds safe from predators, and more. Learn to speak bird—Start talking the talk thanks to an extensive glossary of common chicken-keeping terms. Get your own flock started in no time—The Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens shows you how.