An essay written with university students in mind who are away from home for the first time. Wherever you are, for however long, you can still be a blessing to your place. #rooted thedispatch.com/article/loca...

The tragedy of what happened at Sycamore Gap has never been far from my mind. And finally, I have managed to write something which I think touches on the gravity of what happened - and why it should concern us all. overthefield.substack.com/p/all-that-w...

Latest essay on Over the Field explores the theme of loss in the British countryside, especially those losses that we will never get back. overthefield.substack.com/p/all-that-w...

I enjoyed looking round some spectacular half-timbered churches recently in the Staffordshire-Cheshire borderlands. However, one little church among the three I visited, was engaged in a quite extraordinary form of deception… thevillagegreen.substack.com/p/the-little...

On the Cultivate Course I am doing at Crosslands Seminary, we are going to read this little book over the next few months. It is densely packed with life-giving wisdom for the writer and the intellectual. This thread will be an ongoing repository of the wisdom I mine from its pages.

What are the best books on agrarianism, techno-scepticism, creation care, and rurality? I give my opinions here: overthefield.substack.com/p/books-from...

Latest essay is on the broken economics of our food system, based on a quote from H.J. Massingham overthefield.substack.com/p/where-do-f...

The top 11 books that define my writing at Over the Field The best (in my opinion) books on agrarianism, creation care, and rural philosophy. overthefield.substack.com

Intergenerational transfer of precious knowledge is vitally important. And with each passing day, and each passing death of a 'living library', we are running out of time. overthefield.substack.com/p/the-living...

In a world of sometimes overwhelming scale, agrarianism offers a refuge for humanity, where our limits can be embraced and affections realised. This is what I argued in a recent reflection with some help from Wendell Berry overthefield.substack.com/p/unfathomab...

Spent a few hours yesterday sitting in the presence of a pair of Pied Wagtails. Their ability to catch flying insects mid air (including when they already have a mouthful) is quite extraordinary.

An essay on what I believe Wendell Berry would say about the whole Martian Manifest Destiny nonsense that was doing the rounds earlier in the year. #mars #soilhealth overthefield.substack.com/p/our-manife...

In his essay, The Total Economy, Wendell Berry notes that though the awareness and publicity of problems is a good and necessary thing, as problems rise in the public consciousness and become ‘popular problems’, this can lead to a new problem - that of oversimplification...

“Power deals efficiently with numbers that affection cannot recognise” - Wendell Berry However, as this piece shows, power can also deal 'destructively' with numbers affection cannot recognise - as happened when 18,000 cows exploded on a factory farm. overthefield.substack.com/p/a-grim-par...

"The deciders should have to live with the results of their decisions." Wendell Berry arguing in 'The Whole Horse' that local decision making should be made by those invested in and rooted to their local places.

Beautiful understory in Oxenber wood, North Yorkshire. So many primroses in amongst the bluebells.

Friends of Friendless Churches featured an article on Church Kneelers in their journal. Ever since, I have been hooked on documenting these important pieces of localist art. This post documents some of my findings and advocates for their preservation thevillagegreen.substack.com/p/preserving...

Seems like a good time to repost this in light of the chaos in Spain and Portugal. The importance of redundancy and analog back-ups in a world of digital vulnerability. overthefield.substack.com/p/when-every...

What does a diet that benefits our local place look like? What does a diet that loves our neighbour look like? These are the questions I unpack here: overthefield.substack.com/p/consuming-...

What does a diet that benefits our local place look like? That is the question I try and unpack here: overthefield.substack.com/p/consuming-...

"Our local places may be able to satisfy almost all of our needs, but it won’t be able to satisfy all of our wants." "We need to consume in a manner which demonstrates that we really do love our neighbour and the land we live on." overthefield.substack.com/p/consuming-...

John Stewart Collis deserves to be better known than he is. He was an insightful, humble, and charming nature/agrarian writer.

As Lent draws to a close, here is a essay on how this goose was at the centre of a Lenten controversy, a controversy so severe that it reputedly required a papal injunction to declare that the barnacle goose is a bird - not a fish. overthefield.substack.com/p/the-curiou...

Phenomenal book

Is this a goose or is this a fish? It is almost unfathomable, but this really was a pressing issue in the medieval period. My latest piece is on this controversial bird and one of the most surreal moments in natural history overthefield.substack.com/p/the-curiou...

Are weeds agricultural sinners or ecological saints? Calling a plant "a weed" or "a wildflower" is a significant act that determines how we perceive the plant in front of us. #naturewriting overthefield.substack.com/p/weeds-as-s...

Lambing time is imminent up here in the Yorkshire Dales and in this reflection I chart its joys and laments overthefield.substack.com/p/the-joys-a...

Lambing time is imminent up here in the Yorkshire Dales and in this reflection I chart its joys and laments overthefield.substack.com/p/the-joys-a...

Delighted to have my first book review published in the Plough on a wonderfully delicious book: 'The Apple' by Sally Coulthard. An incredibly well researched history of this humble but delicious fruit. www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...

A selection of some extraordinary churches visited recently in the North York Moors area. If you want to see more like this then visit my publication concerning all things Rural Britain: thevillagegreen.substack.com

Why money (or a lot of it) can be a curse to a community - and how to deal with it. "Waste" it. overthefield.substack.com/p/the-curse-...

I'm going to start posting about my work on the philosophical horizons of local knowledge. My UK case studies include hill farmers and crofters. #Heidegger and #Dewey are the key philosophers for grounding this work. I hope you'll enjoy. #LocalKnowledge #FieldPhilosophy #GrassrootsOntology

David Fleming, author of Lean Logic, is quickly becoming one of my chief philosophical influences. Much of this essay is based on Fleming’s concept of Intentional Waste - a concept greatly needed in our world built on never-ending growth and consumption. overthefield.substack.com/p/the-curse-...

When the chancellor is preaching grow, grow, grow, perhaps what we need to do instead is waste money (per David Fleming) overthefield.substack.com/p/the-curse-...

From Wendell Berry. Relevant for the times we are living in. Essay: Money Versus Goods.

"You are limited and that is a very good thing" and "Limits are there for our flourishing - embrace them" These two statements represent the core philosophy that underpins my writing and my essays on this theme can be found here: overthefield.substack.com/p/goodness-o...

Did you know that this harmless creature once slew a king? overthefield.substack.com/p/seldom-see...

Picturesque places are popular for a reason, but this popularity can be their demise. Visiting other places can be one of the ways we help protect them. #naturewriting overthefield.substack.com/p/the-traged...

The tragedy of the commons meets the tragedy of the picturesque. overthefield.substack.com/p/the-traged...

A lot of this is how I approach countryside wanderings. Will never forget the horror of coming down off Catbells, and the complete insanity that had taken over the carpark whilst we had started the walk early on a glorious day.

"Stay away from the picturesque." That is my advice to those wanting a good day out in nature. overthefield.substack.com/p/the-traged...

The tragedy of the commons and picturesque sites. In this essay I argue for the sake of nature and serenity that we should perhaps give visiting picturesque sites a miss in peak seasons overthefield.substack.com/p/the-traged...

This little church is one of the most important church buildings in the world. Find out why I make this claim here in this article - and also read the fascinating story of King Edmund and the Wolf that also associated with the building. thevillagegreen.substack.com/p/the-oldest...

I launched a new publication recently called The Village Green. thevillagegreen.substack.com

There is a chance of snow in the next few days. Safe to say, this poem that I had published this month describes my feelings at the moment clayjar.review/issues/thril...

My essay on Mistletoe is free to read till the new year. Read on to find out why Charles Dickens is responsible for the kissing habit... overthefield.substack.com/p/a-very-fes...

Thrilled to have my first ever published poetry piece in this wonderful issue from The Clayjar Review: The anticipation of the boy in winter I think you can guess who this “boy” is based on… clayjar.review/issues/thril...

The recent trend in the increase in overwintering blackcap may do wonders for one of our most cherished plants: the mistletoe. Read on to find out why overthefield.substack.com/p/a-very-fes...

Did you know that mistletoe is the gold standard of viscosity? In fact, the etymological roots of the word viscous are derived from the latin name for mistletoe: Viscum album. Lots more intrigue on this wonderful plant in my piece here: overthefield.substack.com/p/a-very-fes...

I just published an essay today on mistletoe and caught the autocorrect making this very same mistake. But considering how voraciously mistle thrushes defend mistletoe patches, perhaps 'missile thrush' is an appropriate name!