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Ruth Pavey’s new book, Deeper into the Wood, shares her love of the four acres of wooded land she has been nurturing for over two decades. It’s a personal tale of one woman’s faithful care for a patch of land that is rather ordinary to anyone except to her.
We follow her through the year as she travels between London, where she lives, and Somerset, where the wood is located. She spends time tirelessly planting, pruning, weeding, watering, and walking among the trees, shrubs and plants. And as she spends time in the wood, she observes the growth, the changes, what thrives and what doesn’t.
She also observes a rather alarming reduction in the diversity of animal, bird, and insect species, as well as a drop in overall numbers. She observes the changing climate. She invites experts in to count plant and moth species. She invites friends on walks with her. She invites family into the wood in hopes of interesting them in caretaking. She researches the history of the place. She is determined to do the best she can as caretaker of this land.
Deeper into the Wood was an inspiring read, and it encouraged me to care for my own land with greater devotion. If we all tended our land as well as the author did, Nature would benefit greatly.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in nature memoirs, natural history, or books about country life.
*I was given an e-galley of this book through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.
Life of Kim 