A Northern Countryside

The author offers a close, affectionate account of a lake-dotted, hilly rural region, combining natural description, seasonal observation, and local anecdote collected from earlier generations. Chapters move through river and pond, woodlands and ridges, farms, orchards and harvest fields, and the rhythms of spring, harvest and early winter, noting soil, flora, and farming practices as well as small-community characters and customs. Photographic illustrations punctuate impressions of past landscapes, homesteads and work; the terrain’s ridges, evergreen stands, orchards, and frozen rivers are described with attention to sensory detail and to changes across the year.