The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel

The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel 
This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood.

John Lewis-Stempel’s The Wood is not merely a nature book; it's an intimate diary of a year spent tending to a small, English woodland. With lyrical prose and a keen eye for detail, John invites us into a world of whispering leaves, rustling undergrowth, and the gentle symphony of nature's rhythms.

As we follow John through the seasons, we become acquainted with the wood's inhabitants: the mischievous foxes, the elusive owls, and the vibrant bluebells that carpet the forest floor. We witness the cycle of life, from the delicate unfurling of spring buds to the crisp, golden hues of autumn leaves.

John Lewis-Stempel is a farmer and a countryside writer - he prefers that title to 'nature writer.'

John's books include the Sunday Times bestseller The Running Hare. He is the only person to have won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing twice, with Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow. In 2016 he was Magazine Columnist of the Year for his column in Country Life. He lives in Herefordshire ("heh-ruh-frd-shr") with his wife and two children. The Wood was a BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' 

The Wood is written in diary format, which makes the whole reading experience more intimate and lyrical.

John shares his take on all four seasons in the English woodlands, along with lots of wonderful nuggets culled from history and experience. And I might add that John is a kindred spirit in his love of poetry and folklore.

John spent four years managing a mini forest called Cockshutt Wood - three and a half acres of mixed woodland in southwest Herefordshire. The job entailed pruning trees and raising livestock (pigs and cows roam free in the woods). 

John wrote of the peace and privacy afforded him by his time there.

Cockshutt was a sanctuary for me too; a place of ceaseless seasonal wonder where I withdrew into tranquility.

No one comes looking for you in wood.

The Wood covers John's last year as the manager of Cockshutt. The publisher writes, 

[By then], he had come to know it from the bottom of its beech roots to the tip of its oaks, and to know all the animals that lived there the fox, the pheasants, the wood mice, the tawny owl - and where the best bluebells grew. 

For many fauna and flora, woods like Cockshutt are the last refuge. It proves a sanctuary for John too.

To read The Wood is to be amongst its trees as the seasons change, following an easy path until, suddenly the view is broken by a screen of leaves, or your foot catches on a root, or bird startles overhead. This is a wood you will never want to leave.

The Wood starts in December, making it the perfect holiday or winter gift. John writes about the bare trees and the gently falling snow, and the landscape becomes still and silent. 

John writes,

Oddly aware, walking through the wood this afternoon, that it is dormant rather than dead. How the seeds. the trees and hibernating animals....are locked in a safe sleep against the coldand wet.

By January, the wood stirs to life with the arrival of snowdrops.

If snowdrops are appearing, then the earth must be wakening. Of all our wildflowers the white hells are the purest, the most ethereal. the most chaste... Whatever: the snowdrop says that winter is not forever.

As The Wood takes you through an entire year, the book ends as another winter approaches. The trees are losing their leaves. Animals are preparing for their long sleep. John is preparing to leave the woods for his next chapter as well.

Looking back, he writes, 

I thought the trees and the birds belonged to me. But now I  realize that I belonged to them.

More than just a natural history, The Wood is a meditation on the human connection to nature. John’s love for his woodland is palpable, and his descriptions of its beauty and tranquility are both evocative and inspiring. It's a book that will make you yearn for the peace and quiet of a forest and perhaps even inspire you to plant a tree or two of your own.

If you're seeking a literary escape that is both informative and emotionally resonant, The Wood is a must-read. It’s a testament to the enduring power of nature and the importance of preserving our green spaces.

This book is 304 pages of joyful, poetic, and soul-stirring time in the woods with the elegantly articulate John Lewis-Stempel as your guide. He's part forest sprite with a dash of delightful nature-soaked inspiring tidbits.

You can get a copy of The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $6.