Notes from Walnut Tree Farm

A nice hardback, with a good feel to the paper and binding. And this is just the kind of book you would want in hardback, as you will probably dip in for many years to come.These are rather spare, often unconnected musings. Unconnected in the sense that, unlike in his "Waterlog" or "Wildwood", there is no particular theme. But as he is a pretty holistic person, there are links and mental ley-lines all over the place, so the musings flow into each other smoothly, like water off a spinning ball. It is nice to see the links to his other books: swimming in the moat, memories of Kyrgyzystan.After water and wood I find myself looking for the third leg of a trilogy, a common theme. That is not there. He comes back to water, and to wood, and to many other subjects; so maybe the third leg of his trilogy is thought about all, and about All. "Looking, just looking, is all we have to do, to see the essential truth." And we get an insight in his looking, through his eye, into his fellow feeling for all living things, into his consideration for others.My only (very small) niggle is that occasionally I feel the notes for several years have been mixed up, which is slightly uncomfortable. But overall these notes flow well, and they are very enjoyable. He is an excellent, natural writer, and I recommend this book for your pleasure - and for your thoughtfulness, too.And it's nice to see him is searching for Jefferies' old book "Bevis" - on Amazon!

Well written by a a good wordsmith who has an accurate and quirky view of the natural world. I’ve read it 3 times and always find something else.

Thoughtful and heartfelt. His love of his home and surrounding area is uplifting and positive. Best read with a brew.

This is a wonderful book - both in the sense that is a great book, but also in the sense that it is full of wonder for the nature of the world and the people within it.By its nature episodic it eventually draws a coherent picture of a man and his relationship with the landscape around him. The book is rooted in the observation of the real.We seem to face a choice between the fantasy of virtual words and the reality of the actual word. This book is a strong reminder of the power and value of the real.

I love this book, but would suggest anyone new to Roger Deakin's writing reads first Waterlog then Wildwood before reading Notes from Walnut Tree farm.Roger Deakin was an author, broadcaster and film-maker, as well as being a founder director of Common Ground, the environmental and arts charity. He restored and lived in Walnut Tree farm from 1974 until his death in 2006. Waterlog was published by Deakin in 1999. Wildwood was published posthumously in 2007, followed by Notes from Walnut Tree farm in 2008. Edited by Alison Hastie and Terence Blacker, the contents are taken from Deakin's copious notebooks.I find Deakin's work compulsive, immersive and immensely pleasurable to read. Notes from Walnut Tree farm forms an addendum to a great life and to the other two literary masterpieces that precede it.Find out more about Roger Deakin on the University of East Anglia archive website.

bought it because I'd read another one by the same author which I loved, next on my pile to read

This is a lovely book for anyone who loves the countryside, especially the woods, and Roger Deakin fills the reader with a desire to get out there and take (another) look at familiar places. It follows the course of a year at his house in Suffolk and is the musings and jottings of a real country lover, well edited and easy to read. It is a comforting book as winter approaches as so much of it is about the continuity of nature as well as the need to protect our special places.

I am a great fan of Roger Deakin and this is the only book of the trilogy I have not completed. I love the way he writes about serious issues of environmental and conservationist matters without thrusting them down ones throat. He writes with warmth about landscape and the biotic environment spiced with humorous observations; I think that is the attraction of his writing style. I live in East Anglia, in the same region that inspired a lot of his writing and so, from time to time, certain things resonate with me. This product was the first Kindle version I have purchased in the Roger Deakin cannon.

Pleased with quality and delivery standards.

It's some weeks since I read this and while it was a pleasant enough read at the time, I can remember very little about it.I shall probably read it again in a few months time. Perhaps after a second reading it will make a stronger impression.

Calming, thought provoking, poetic and honest.This is my second reading of Notes from Walnut Tree farm. I think I preferred the first reading; this (second) reading was a closer affair and I digested more meaning. It wasn't so fleeting or as light as the first.This second reading had me feeling that Deakin was often hypocritical - critical of other 'faceless' people stripping the land for their own personal gain to the detriment of its eco-system, whilst he himself 'stripped' Hawthorne berries and gathered them into a big IKEA bag without really having a planned use for them. Not a heinous crime of course, just something that nagged at me.Still, I give five stars because of the sheer individualism that shines through and the sense of getting away from it all, that Deakin invokes.

Mit einem englischen Farmer erlebt man die vier Jahreszeiten auf seinem Stück Land. Er liebt die Natur und beschreibt sehr schön die Fauna und Flora, immer aus der Perspektive des bodenständigen Naturliebhabers und immer begeistert und engagiert.

Didn't know his work until I read a bit in a new book of his featured at the local library. Loved it and had to read more by him so I bought this one. Partly because I love this form -- a journal focusing on a life in a natural setting and cycling through a year. He's intelligent, funny, observant, eccentric and entertaining. He pays close attention to the world around him, talks about his pleasures and travels, his woodworking, his reading, music, local history. The editors have done a great job of selection---culling these entries from journals over his last six years. The English setting also adds just a bit of strangeness that keeps things fresh and surprising. The kind of book I keep to reread, for pleasure and to keep my eyes and imagination alert.