Welcome to another Gleanings From The Field, an occasional newsletter of updates, recommended reading, and snippets of thought.
News From The Field
The relatively cold spring merged into a cold and wet summer here in the UK, though as I sit here writing this, a “mini-heatwave” has finally arrived in sunny Essex, much to the delight go my tomatoes which have shot up over the last few days, though my sole surviving cucumber has been less grateful.
This past few months have been very busy for me. Firstly, in late May, we made a trip to Sweden, firstly to Stockholm and then into the Bergslagen Forest where I failed to see a Moose (my favourite animal) but saw many other interesting creatures including Red and Black-throated Diver (or loon), Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Black Woodpecker, Icterine Warbler, Red-backed Shrike, calling Common Cranes, and a Grass Snake.
While in Sweden, I learnt about the fabled Runestones which are dotted all around the country, but concentrated in the Stockholm archipelago region where we were staying. These stones were set up hundreds of years ago and are ingrained with scenes depicting dragons, crosses, and other ancient symbols. Round the rim are inscriptions written in an ancient runic script. Interestingly, these inscriptions and etchings are painted in Falu Red paint — which was the subject of a recent essaylet here on Over the Field.
On our final day in Sweden, after a failed attempt to see an impressive runestone in a farmer’s field (it was fenced off), we went to see the Ängbystenen stone which is located in a suburb of Stockholm — not by any means a “wild location” but the beauty and size of the stone made up for that. The stone is potentially from the 12th Century with intricate dragon forms etched into its centre, but like most stones, it has a rather mundane runic inscription:
“Udd had the stone erected after Björn, Ingrid's father. He was Vides' heir”
Later in May, we took a brief trip up to the Yorkshire Dales for some house hunting. We are planning a move to this beautiful part of the country later this year to embrace our ideals of rural living and being rooted in a community (and as houses are much cheaper up there!). We have settled on the rather picturesque village of Sedbergh which just so happens to be England’s Book Town! This large village of around 2700 inhabitants boasts three independent bookshops including one which has a huge selection of second-hand agrarian and countryside books. Very useful indeed.
We have put in an offer for a house this week — let’s see where that goes. When we move, if you are ever up in that part of the country which is near the stunning Lake District, do let me know. I would love to meet up with more of my subscribers.
Going through a house move will mean that the number of essays that I publish will be reduced over the coming months. However, I still plan on holding a few Wendell Berry Reading Groups for my paid subscribers as well as publishing some short reflections, a poetry anthology on ‘Forests’, and some long-form essays when I have the time.
Finally, I am delighted to provide a link to my second published piece with Hearth & Field on the theme of summer and its colourful abundance. Thanks again to my excellent editor
.Gleanings From The Field
Now onto some Substack recommendations from my recent reading:
I was delighted to contribute in a small way to this insightful essay on the philosophy of tradesmen by
. My friend also contributed. Paul’s words are well worth the time to read.“As history unfolds, I can’t predict what the future will look like, though I suspect we will discover that the commercial market is more limited than it lets on. Though the old generations of masters are now thin and gray, they are not gone. They still must work for their bread, and still raise up reluctant young men to replace them. The architectural coup d’etat now globally playing out can only go so far in crushing the local soul.”
Paul Kingsnorth recently challenged us all to retreat from the deepfake world we now find ourselves swimming amidst. The strong currents of mass media take us everyday nearer and nearer towards the disorientating world of artificiality and falsehood. Escaping this current may require radical action. For Paul, this has meant he has decided to completely stop reading the news (as a wise man once said, “If a story is newsworthy one will inevitably hear of it without the help of the “News””). For me, this means continuing to uphold my “no AI” stance in writing and imagery and culling my social media use and following.
Finally, I want to bring to my agrarian minded readers attention the incredible work that
is doing over on Folk Chain of Memory. He is tirelessly documenting old Southern Agrarian journals, writing, and more. Chase has done an immense service to researchers and hobbyists alike and is creating a monumentally rich resource. I aim, over time to do something similar with the British Agrarians of the past century.From The Barn
An essay from my archives
From The Threshing Floor
Some recent thoughts that I have had from my reading of the Agrarians
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