The Running Hare: The Secret Life of Farmland

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His latest work, La Vie, (2023) describes his experience in 'la France profonde'. [7] Personal life [ edit ]

Nearly 3.5) This is the record of a year of old-fashioned farming: Lewis-Stempel rented a several-acre field called Flinders, planted wildflowers in with his wheat and corn, and plowed it himself. Not a pesticide in sight. He attracted hares and other mammals, as well as numerous species of birds – all in all, much more life than your average field farmed by modern methods.

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Happiness can truly be enhanced by soil - scientists at the University of Bristol report that a specific soil bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae activates a set of serotonin releasing neurones in the dorsal raphe nucleus of the brain - the same ones targeted by Prozac. So your mood can genuinely lift, just form working with, or walking over soil. Fans of Lewis-Stempel's bestselling Meadowland will find here the same easy-reading prose fuelled by daft-as-a-brush enthusiasm and embellished with lyrical flourishes ... the mud-spattered details of a farming life lend The Running Hare a unique realness." ( Mail on Sunday)

One field, naturally sown and tended, attracted wildlife to it that were completely absent from the surrounding agri-cultured, chemically-induced fields. Hares, red-legged partridges, rabbits, pheasant, many different birds and insects were all drawn to Flinders, a field that the author tended with love and farmed with old methods rather than spraying with chemicals. Amongst the wheat, he sowed an abundance of wildflowers, horrifying neighbouring farmers who termed them ‘weeds’. Agriculture has decimated British nature so I admire anyone who makes an effort to reverse the process, even in a small way. John Lewis-Stempel is an English farmer, writer, and Sunday Times Top 5 best selling author. He was born in Herefordshire, where his family have lived for over 700 years. [1] Career [ edit ] In general, I quite enjoyed reading this rather stylish and romantic account of Lewis-Stempel's project to turn an arable field into a sustainable wheat and wildflower field. His idea was to employ traditional and regenerative methods (including re-introducing bird and wildlife species) to achieve his final goal of producing a crop of wheat-sheafs. His desire was to to see just what could be done in a small area of land (15 acres), and just how much bio-diversity could be regained in the space of his short tenancy of two years.Joyfully this does not prevent or spoil John's efforts to turn his newly acquired 'Flinders' field into a glorious and abundant wheatfield enjoyed by birds, wild animals, wildlife, wildflowers, wild herbs and all that comes with a worm-filled rich soil and the care of someone who understands the needs of the land and how to nurture it through the seasons. The Running Hare pub is in St David’s Park, Ewloe, North Wales. You’ll find us just off the A494, close to Junction 33B of the A55 (North Wales Expressway). We’re also close to the B5125, handy for families visiting from Mancot, Sandycroft, and Dobshill. Englightening and stylish [...] Readers who enjoyed the author's last book, Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field, will find much in the same vein here: a mix of agricultural history, rural lore, topographical description and childhood memories. I learned a good deal [...] Lewis-Stempel is a fine stylist, adroitly conjuring scenes in which "medieval mist hangs in the trees" or "frost clenches the ground" [...] "

Englightening and stylish...Readers who enjoyed the author’s last book, Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field, will find much in the same vein here: a mix of agricultural history, rural lore, topographical description and childhood memories. I learned a good deal.... Lewis-Stempel is a fine stylist, adroitly conjuring scenes in which “medieval mist hangs in the trees” or “frost clenches the ground”..." (Sara Wheeler Observer)Find sources: "John Lewis-Stempel"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( April 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)