Rhythms of Nature
Rhythms of Nature
Wildlife and Wild Places Between the Moors
By Ian Carter
- Reflects on the importance of nature for human wellbeing and development.
- Offers inspiring suggestions for how to engage with the natural world in new ways.
- Packed with vivid wildlife encounters, anecdotes and stories.
Description
Time outdoors is always well spent. It raises the spirits, sparks the imagination and, as research increasingly shows, measurably improves our physical and mental wellbeing. Rhythms of Nature celebrates this fundamental relationship with the natural world, and considers some ways we might rediscover it.
After a career in conservation, Ian Carter moves to a secluded farmhouse tucked away in the low hills of mid-Devon between Exmoor and Dartmoor. Here he tries new approaches to exploring the local countryside. He learns the edible species, follows streams (wherever they may lead) and slips unseen through private estates. He experiments with rewilding the garden, goes on night-time rambles and watches the changing seasons in super high definition.
Following on from the author’s acclaimed Human, Nature, this engaging and thought-provoking book offers simple suggestions for how to enliven a sense of wonder in our surroundings. A paean to the ‘neglected’ and untidy places that can enrich our lives, it will appeal to anyone wishing to develop a deeper connection with wildlife or who has a desire to seek out the wilder corners of our landscape.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
HOME TURF
House guests
Growing the lawn
Garden rewilders
Dabbling in management
To feed or not to feed
The turning of the Earth
VENTURING OUT
Signs of life
Fellow-travellers
Wild browsing
WAYS OF SEEING
Reminders of wilderness
Wild nights out
Going with the flow
The gentle art of tramping
CONNECTIONS
Tragedy on the common
Fleeing humanity
Rain, forest
Green unpleasant land
The amateur naturalists
Wintering
Index
About the Author
Ian Carter worked as an ornithologist with Natural England for 25 years but now spends his time watching and writing about wildlife. He wrote The Red Kite’s Yearand The Hen Harrier’s Year (forthcoming) with wildlife artist Dan Powell. His last book – Human, Nature – is also available in our shop.
Reviews
Reviews
- By turns practical and philosophical, Rhythms of Nature is a genially-shared, genuine reflection on a lifetime's hard-won, hands-on knowledge from a total involvement in nature.
—Stephen Rutt, author of The Seafarers, Wintering, and The Eternal Season - A wonderful blend of knowledge and insight, fuelled by unquenchable curiosity for the natural world. Rhythms of Nature is like a conversation with a clever friend. I loved it.
—Lev Parikian, author of Into the Tangled Bank, Light Rains Sometimes Fall, and Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? - Having greatly enjoyed the author’s earlier book, Human, Nature, I was pleased to find its follow-up to be another delight: a beautifully written and thought-provoking meditation on our diverse relationship with nature, this time viewed through the prism of the changing seasons.
—Jonathan Elphick, ornithologist and natural history author - I so enjoyed reading this book. Ian’s writing is engaging, thought-provoking, and refreshingly honest - and his approaches to exploring his new patch, together with suggestions for how we might all rekindle our relationships with the natural world, are both insightful and inspiring.
—Brigit Strawbridge Howard, author of Dancing with Bees - Carter invites the reader on a gentle and entertaining exploration of nature through the seasons, discussing and dissecting our enduring and occasionally paradoxical relationship with the British countryside. Along the way, we’re treated to perceptive musings on everything from wild foraging, chicken-keeping and hare-coursing to the rights and wrongs of feeding garden birds.
—Dan Eatherley, author of Invasive Aliens - What makes this book, and Ian’s writing in general, is not that Ian sees things that the rest of us couldn’t see but that he thinks more about what he sees than many do, and then writes softly and engagingly about his thoughts. I find myself mentally commenting ‘Good point, well made’ as I move through the book but even if I very occasionally differ, slightly, from the author I don’t mind because he puts his thoughts over so well.
—Mark Avery - A tramp through the west country and a diary of a cottage garden, thoughts on rewilding and the value of hens. Does that sound disparate… it's not. This book is semi-autobiographical if you see the reflection in nature described, it sets out hopes, pitfalls and down-to-earth experiences. It's entertaining and, almost by osmosis, informative. Thoroughly well written, it is most accessible and flows so well a promised few pages ends up a chapter or two, while you follow the seasons. Great stuff!
—Fatbirder - Carter has a flair for setting the scene, drawing the tableaux and then moving the reader through the landscape. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and heartily recommend it to all.
—Paul Meadows, British Naturalists Association - This is another good book from Carter and complements his previous book, Human, Nature, really well.
—Paul Cheney - This is a delightful collection of essays beginning indoors and drawing the reader out into the garden and the surrounding countryside. If you are looking for inspiration and fresh ideas for venturing out into your local area, read this book.
—Simon Bates, British Ecological Society - ...strongly recommended.
—Gordon Hamlett, Birdwatchers, Best Bird Books of the Year - [The author's] continuing curiosity about how the world works, and firm belief that we are just one part of it and not entirely 'separate' from other life on Earth, give the book a particular relevance and will provoke a sympathetic response from readers who also enjoy and benefit from contact with the natural world.
—Rob Hume, birdguides.com
- By turns practical and philosophical, Rhythms of Nature is a genially-shared, genuine reflection on a lifetime's hard-won, hands-on knowledge from a total involvement in nature.