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A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm
A book about a time gone by, about family, about growing up -- storytelling and descriptive nature writing at its best.
In A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm, Edwin Way Teale gives us not only his most personal writing but some of his finest. Considered by many to be his greatest book, it is as relevant today as when it was first published.
In A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm, Edwin Way Teale gives us not only his most personal writing but some of his finest. Considered by many to be his greatest book, it is as relevant today as when it was first published.
306 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1974
10 people are currently reading
554 people want to read
About the author
Edwin Way Teale
55 books54 followersEdwin Way Teale was an American naturalist, photographer, and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. Teale's works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930 - 1980. He is perhaps best known for his series The American Seasons, four books documenting over 75,000 miles (121,000 km) of automobile travel across North America following the changing seasons.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 28, 2015
I enjoyed this book tremendously and felt seriously homesick for the farm I lived on in central NH during my teens and twenties. Part of our land was a big swamp, home to a variety of wildlife we were privileged to watch. Teale's book displays his great knowledge of the wild world and its inhabitants, but in a friendly, conversational manner. One is never talked down to, but is shared with, as between friends. I also liked that most of the time he wrote as "we" and not "I", signifying that this was not just what he did and saw and knew, but that he and his wife, Nellie, were true partners, sharing this adventure together.
This is a quiet book, wherein nothing much happens from the perspective of what we call "real Life." "Civilization" and its "advantages" are blessedly absent, enabling us to enjoy vicariously the variety and glory of nature at Trail Wood. I felt a great sense of peace while reading this book, that lingers after I've finished. Unfortunately it also reminds me of how much I miss living in the country.
My one caveat is that I wished for a map of Trail Wood. It's not necessary, but I like having maps.
This is a quiet book, wherein nothing much happens from the perspective of what we call "real Life." "Civilization" and its "advantages" are blessedly absent, enabling us to enjoy vicariously the variety and glory of nature at Trail Wood. I felt a great sense of peace while reading this book, that lingers after I've finished. Unfortunately it also reminds me of how much I miss living in the country.
My one caveat is that I wished for a map of Trail Wood. It's not necessary, but I like having maps.
September 20, 2022
I loved this book! I was not familiar with Edwin Way Teale or his books until he was mentioned in a weekly column on regional history in the Norwich Bulletin (Norwich, Connecticut). I have long dreamed of owning an old farm, so was intrigued to read this account. I was awed by Mr. Teale’s photographic memory and ability to identify so many types of plants, animals, birds, and natural phenomena. He delighted in the natural world at Trail Wood, his and his wife (also a naturalist) Nellie’s farm in Hampton, Connecticut. All I could think is how rich his life was because he didn’t just look at the woods, he saw them in all their mystery, complexity, and beauty even as he grasped the science that explained (or tried to) such things. Really a wonderful book. After reading the book, I was inspired and intrigued to hike the trails at Trail Wood—and basked in the beauty and sense of delight that still imbues the Teales’ (now the Audubon Society’s) land.
October 31, 2025
I chose this 1974 book because of the words "old farm" rather than "naturalist." I love old houses, old farms and rural life, so it was a natural choice. I ended by getting more than I expected. Edwin Way Teale was a well-known and well-respected naturalist who wrote beautifully about the world around us. While the book has less information about the house and its contents, and more information than I expected about plants, birds and insects, it found it a very enjoyable read.
Now when I'm outside, I find myself peeking under dead logs and looking at ants, or watching the way the birds flit from branch to branch. This book really did open my eyes to the natural world. Edwin Teale and his wife Nellie left their farm called "Trail Wood" in Connecticut to the Audubon Society, and it is now open to the public for nature hikes.
Now when I'm outside, I find myself peeking under dead logs and looking at ants, or watching the way the birds flit from branch to branch. This book really did open my eyes to the natural world. Edwin Teale and his wife Nellie left their farm called "Trail Wood" in Connecticut to the Audubon Society, and it is now open to the public for nature hikes.
March 7, 2018
Loved this life changing book, first read in 1974, and re-read this month for a nature science book club I am a member of. Captivating and beautifully written. This author was a role model for me in my youth. I admired how he followed his dream and I tried in a small way to follow his large footprints. He and his wife Nellie were an inspiration to me.
June 25, 2012
I live just a couple of towns away from the what is now the Edwin Way Teale sanctuary in Hampton CT. It is worth the trip to see this place because they named such tiny spots, it will make you laugh to match the description in the book and the actual places. I also had the pleasure of meeting his wife about 15 years ago. The book is best read and savored slowly.
March 12, 2016
Recommended by a friend who recent bought his own farm.
December 4, 2025
It was odd. I saw the book on my stack, but wasn't compelled to dive into it, until the due date gave me a deadline. I had to push myself to read it, but I was always glad I had.
Edwin and his wife, Nellie, (<- I love that: my mom's name was Nellie!) buy an old farm and spend long swathes of time watching. Wildlife, grass, birds, flora, ponds, the woods.
Quotes I copied:
Edwin and his wife, Nellie, (<- I love that: my mom's name was Nellie!) buy an old farm and spend long swathes of time watching. Wildlife, grass, birds, flora, ponds, the woods.
Quotes I copied:
As people grow older the snow — the joyous snow of our youth — seems more and more the enemy. A barometer of our health and spirits and strength is our enjoyment of the white winter.
Charles Darwin noted that in our everyday life we rarely look higher than fifteen degrees above the horizon.
July 1, 2023
Had there never been a 2020, or rather, had there never been a pandemic--because there was always going to be a 2020, good, bad, or indifferent--would I have discovered Edwin Way Teale?
Possibly, but quite probably not. I remember exchanging messages with the eBay seller from whom I purchased my first Edwin Way Teale book, Autumn Across America. By the end I felt like we were friends, which of course we were not, but 2020 was special. I NEEDED a book, a book I could read, because since the trauma that had descended on our family, as it had descended on countless other families in March of 2020 and later, I, normally an avid reader, had not been able to read.
She wished me luck, and I purchased her copy of this, my first Edwin Way Teale book. My first stab at reading Autumn Across America failed. Two years passed before I picked it up again, and at that moment in recovery, Autumn Across America was just what I needed.
I have been searching out and purchasing vintage copies of Edwin Way Teale's books ever since. A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm did not disappoint. I am delighted that he was such a prolific author. A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm is my fourth of his books, and I have quite a number yet to go.
This book seems almost to be a collection of essays. I liked best the chapters titled "Stone Fences," "A Naturalist in a Balloon," "Neighbors and Former Dwellers" (I want to know more about the eccentric poet, Andrew J. Rindge, and the neighbor by the name of Lyman Baker, Lyman being my own name, about whom Rindge composed a poem), "Cabin in the Woods" (because in his writing, Teale almost never mentions his and Nellie's only child, David, who was killed very late in the war, and in this chapter he does), and "Firelight Nights" (which chapter put me in mind of the song, "Birches," by Bill Morrissey, and the essay, "I and My Chimney," my very, very favorite short piece by Herman Melville.
Possibly, but quite probably not. I remember exchanging messages with the eBay seller from whom I purchased my first Edwin Way Teale book, Autumn Across America. By the end I felt like we were friends, which of course we were not, but 2020 was special. I NEEDED a book, a book I could read, because since the trauma that had descended on our family, as it had descended on countless other families in March of 2020 and later, I, normally an avid reader, had not been able to read.
She wished me luck, and I purchased her copy of this, my first Edwin Way Teale book. My first stab at reading Autumn Across America failed. Two years passed before I picked it up again, and at that moment in recovery, Autumn Across America was just what I needed.
I have been searching out and purchasing vintage copies of Edwin Way Teale's books ever since. A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm did not disappoint. I am delighted that he was such a prolific author. A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm is my fourth of his books, and I have quite a number yet to go.
This book seems almost to be a collection of essays. I liked best the chapters titled "Stone Fences," "A Naturalist in a Balloon," "Neighbors and Former Dwellers" (I want to know more about the eccentric poet, Andrew J. Rindge, and the neighbor by the name of Lyman Baker, Lyman being my own name, about whom Rindge composed a poem), "Cabin in the Woods" (because in his writing, Teale almost never mentions his and Nellie's only child, David, who was killed very late in the war, and in this chapter he does), and "Firelight Nights" (which chapter put me in mind of the song, "Birches," by Bill Morrissey, and the essay, "I and My Chimney," my very, very favorite short piece by Herman Melville.
August 5, 2024
A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm by Edwin Way Teale (Dodd, Meade & Company 1974) (500.974) (3975).
This book is my first (and likely last) sampling of the writing of naturalist Edwin Way Teale. I soon discovered that Teale’s writing style reminded me very much of his fellow naturalist and commentator Bill Bryson, whose work I find insufferably tedious.
Writing from his farmstead in New England, this account is in many ways a daily journal of chance sightings of things the author saw in the natural world which spurred his creative juices.
The book makes clear that Teale was particularly fond of rodents and of flying in hot-air balloons. This volume includes a long discourse on ballooning. He wrote extensively about beavers, and he returned several times in this volume to a discourse on his favorite woodchuck.
This is a well-written narrative. It just failed to capture my interest.
My raing: 7/10, finished 8/5/24 (3975).
April 21, 2025
I love everything Teale writes, as I feel he is one of the most prolific and endearing naturalists to ever put words to a page, but this book quickly became my favorite of all of his writings. Ironically, at a time in my life when I am traveling less and feeling the need for a homestead more, Teale tackles this very same feeling in this book and describes how an old farm changed his life so very much for the better. If I needed any more encouraging words, it was this book. Though I am sure as I grow and change, this book will take on a different value and meaning, if you too are in the mood to find your own slice of heaven with the land and nature, this book is for you!
April 30, 2020
It had its moments, but for the most part this book lacked in much organization and excitement. It's mostly the author recounting seemingly every single encounter he has with the flora and fauna on his property, a paragraph at a time. The book is at its best when he tells longer stories, such as when he digs up the history of the people who lived on the land beforehand or the balloon ride he takes and views his domain from above. I would recommend only to the biggest nature lovers who find lists of different types of ferns riveting.
October 13, 2020
A good reminder about how rewarding it can be to take your time when traveling through natural settings. Keep in mind that this series of anecdotes takes place over fifteen years of observation throughout all seasons. During this time the land was not treated as farmland but allowed to return to its natural state. This piece of land is now managed by the CT Audubon Society. It may be worth a detour to visit Trail Wood.
May 28, 2023
This was such a calming, beautiful book. I read it relatively slowly and with a few fits and starts, but mostly I got through about a chapter a day and absolutely enjoyed every bit of it. He divides the book into chapters, with sections on seasons and on animal and plant observations. There are also some nice observations/histories of the town he lives in and some of the more unusual people who have lived in it.
July 10, 2018
While some of this felt outdated (for example, information on people who lived in Hampton) there are some beautiful lines and images in Teale’s writing. It is fascinating and appealing to imagine him and his wife spending 10 years (the time covered in this book) just poking around their property and observing nature.
June 15, 2021
Quiet reflections based on nature observations at Teale's farm. They follow the seasons, which is nice.
My favorite part perhaps was when they took a hot-air balloon ride to photograph the farm. I suppose today one would use drones, but the balloon sounded really neat.
My favorite part perhaps was when they took a hot-air balloon ride to photograph the farm. I suppose today one would use drones, but the balloon sounded really neat.
September 19, 2018
I enjoy all Of Edwin Way Teale's books. This one maybe not as much as his travels, but it is lovely quiet reading nonetheless.
July 19, 2020
Most beautiful, detailed nature writing I know. Delight for any reader.
August 22, 2021
A beautifully written love story about nature.
November 5, 2021
This must surely have been one of the inspirations for the works of Bernd Heinrich, and I enjoyed it almost as much ;)
May 22, 2022
A loving memoir of a farm by a gifted botanist and writer; filled with small treasures of observation and description.
September 11, 2022
This book is filled with bits of joy found in nature. What native Virginian mammal has a gestation period of 12 days!?! Take it to the woods and read it! Love it!
July 19, 2017
After having read other books authored by Teale, I found A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm, to be a major disappointment. The book outlines Edwin and Nellie Teale's purchase of what they believe to be an ideal property; idyllic given what they value in life, which is described in the book as undisturbed nature.
Yet, the property that the Teale's purchase had been a homestead for over 150 years. Man-made stone walls abound on their property, as do old roadbeds. Plants that are invasive to the area were planted by the Teales. Edwin had bulldozers carve out an acre pond on the property. The Teales were apparently heavy feeders of wildlife given numerous descriptions in the book. In other words, the Teales were purposely attracting wildlife to their property using unnatural (i.e., human) means to do so. Thus, the purpose of the home purchase was not congruent with the intent stated in the book.
The vast majority of the book focuses on Edwin's observation of nature - plants, animals, physiography, and geology of the Teale property. A large number of pages are filled with an enumeration of plants (e.g., ferns) that the Teale's found on their property, as well as a census of the number of of each species. While the variety was interesting, little depth was added to why variety (i.e., diversity) is an important feature of the natural landscape. I felt as if I was reading a grocery store shopping list at times - a warped Cliff Clavin (Cheers) statement of numerous facts not tied together in any particular or logical fashion.
Unlike Edwin Teale's other books, which are written with a clear and lovely flow of thought and logic, A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm is written in a very disjointed manner. It jumps topic to topic from paragraph to paragraph, often winding itself back to the initial topic. It seems more like a stream of consciousness sort of dialogue with the reader.
I suspect that if someone other than Teale had written this book, then it would have never been published. It is simply not well written, rambles, and barely scratches the surface with regard to natural history. However, A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm was written after Teale had won a Pulitzer Prize for his American Seasons series (which is fantastic). As such, it was likely rather easy for him to find a publisher for anything he wrote afterward. Hence, I do not recommend this book.
Yet, the property that the Teale's purchase had been a homestead for over 150 years. Man-made stone walls abound on their property, as do old roadbeds. Plants that are invasive to the area were planted by the Teales. Edwin had bulldozers carve out an acre pond on the property. The Teales were apparently heavy feeders of wildlife given numerous descriptions in the book. In other words, the Teales were purposely attracting wildlife to their property using unnatural (i.e., human) means to do so. Thus, the purpose of the home purchase was not congruent with the intent stated in the book.
The vast majority of the book focuses on Edwin's observation of nature - plants, animals, physiography, and geology of the Teale property. A large number of pages are filled with an enumeration of plants (e.g., ferns) that the Teale's found on their property, as well as a census of the number of of each species. While the variety was interesting, little depth was added to why variety (i.e., diversity) is an important feature of the natural landscape. I felt as if I was reading a grocery store shopping list at times - a warped Cliff Clavin (Cheers) statement of numerous facts not tied together in any particular or logical fashion.
Unlike Edwin Teale's other books, which are written with a clear and lovely flow of thought and logic, A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm is written in a very disjointed manner. It jumps topic to topic from paragraph to paragraph, often winding itself back to the initial topic. It seems more like a stream of consciousness sort of dialogue with the reader.
I suspect that if someone other than Teale had written this book, then it would have never been published. It is simply not well written, rambles, and barely scratches the surface with regard to natural history. However, A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm was written after Teale had won a Pulitzer Prize for his American Seasons series (which is fantastic). As such, it was likely rather easy for him to find a publisher for anything he wrote afterward. Hence, I do not recommend this book.
August 1, 2025
Some of the most beautiful nature writing you will ever read. I absolutely felt like I was there. And now I want an unfarmed, wild farm in Connecticut. If you want some peace and calm in this world, read this book.
October 3, 2012
Wonderful writings about observing nature on his own property and restoring it for native plants and animals. Teale was an early nature writer (this book dates from the forties) who sounds a lot like some of the nature-writing today. A great read.
January 6, 2017
Such a peaceful, amusing read. It's a bit slow... in a pleasant way. If you love nature and stories of animals, the land, hiking trails, and very little change in over a decade, this is the book for you.
June 6, 2013
"Our corner of Connecticut..."
January 1, 2015
Edwin Way Teale's brilliant writing brings you right along with him on his walks and animal encounters in the beautiful Connecticut countryside.
February 2, 2015
This book reveals, in stunning detail, the magic that surrounds us if we would only take the time to look and listen.
June 3, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. I've read quite a lot of books by Edwin Teale, sand this was one of his best.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews