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Letters from the Country
A collection of short stories about life on the farm.
- GenresNonfictionCanadaMemoir
247 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 8, 2014
Letters from the country is non-fiction that reads like fiction. It's funny and light and is composed of small chapters detailing the adventures of the author, Marsha Boulton--a writer who moved to the country to raise sheep.
This book reminds me a lot of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small. Though there are parts that are sad, most are funny and some are outright hilarious.
The characters in the book are mostly animals. Determined sheep, stubborn cows who run away, quirky dogs and very silly chickens. Marsha tries to keep things neat, organized and clean and, of course, the animals will have none of it getting in the way in their unique and very often funny ways.
The neighbours are there too with their country-quirks and sayings but it's the animals that made me laugh. I have dogs and I can relate so well to the fiascos her brood creates.
It's an easy to book to pick up and you barely have to make a commitment. Each chapter is self-contained organized by seasons. The gift is the humour. I've laughed and laughed with this book.
It not only won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour but it inspired a series of books along the same lines. I definitely recommend it.
This book reminds me a lot of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small. Though there are parts that are sad, most are funny and some are outright hilarious.
The characters in the book are mostly animals. Determined sheep, stubborn cows who run away, quirky dogs and very silly chickens. Marsha tries to keep things neat, organized and clean and, of course, the animals will have none of it getting in the way in their unique and very often funny ways.
The neighbours are there too with their country-quirks and sayings but it's the animals that made me laugh. I have dogs and I can relate so well to the fiascos her brood creates.
It's an easy to book to pick up and you barely have to make a commitment. Each chapter is self-contained organized by seasons. The gift is the humour. I've laughed and laughed with this book.
It not only won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour but it inspired a series of books along the same lines. I definitely recommend it.
June 25, 2009
Travel, sort of. Once again for me anything Canadian is travel.
Journalist and broadcaster Marsha Boulton--city woman --moves to the country and becomes a shepherd. She never dreamed she would do this and how it came about is enjoyable and funny.
Journalist and broadcaster Marsha Boulton--city woman --moves to the country and becomes a shepherd. She never dreamed she would do this and how it came about is enjoyable and funny.
January 13, 2021
Marsha Bouton lived a high-end life as an editor of the “People” section of Macleans, Canada’s national news magazine. She interviewed celebrities, writers, musicians and politicians and attended embassy parties and film festivals. But one day as she was approaching thirty, she made a decision that changed her life, exchanging her glamourous high heels for muddy “Wellies” by choosing to live in the country.
Driving through the Southwestern Ontario countryside with a real estate agent, Boulton found a huge Victorian farmhouse that she loved and bought it. She figured with technology and the internet, she could work, live in the country, grow healthy food, write and make some money raising sheep. She decided on sheep because she thought they were small enough for her to manage and they didn’t bite!
Boulton takes both a serious and humourous approach describing her progress learning to farm and raise sheep. It was a difficult journey and she made many mistakes, but it was not just leaning about farming that challenged her, becoming part of the community was one of the first hurdles she faced.
Bouton explains how neighbours and friendships are different in the country. In the city, none of her neighbours spoke to her or knew much about her. In the country, neighbours may be physically more distant but interact with one another regularly. Everyone knows everyone else including what they do, where they go, their family situation and the condition of their health. Surviving in the country is only possible with the support of neighbours and friends. They are the ones you need when you get in trouble or need advice and the ones who watch out and protect you. There are few, if any, other supports. But buying a piece of property in the neighborhood does not automatically gain you acceptance as a “neighbour”. Each new member of the community must earn this standing over time. Boulton speaks of the hours she spent bowling, at auctions, playing cards, attending dances and exhibiting livestock with her neighbours during which she was assessed, judged and finally earned her space among them. Now she not only knows every car that passes by the farm, but who is at the wheel, where they are headed and why! If her mail or her newspapers are not picked up on the lane leading to her house, she knows the mailman will come knocking on her door to check that she is alright. Although at one time she might have shied away and considered this an intrusion in her life, that is no longer true. It is her neighbours she credits with teaching her the most about farming. She spent hours with these knowledgeable farmers in their fields and barns learning so much more than she could ever pick up from books.
Bouton shares various anecdotes in her process of learning, describing times in the lambing shed as a midwife overseeing hundreds of births and learning to shear the older sheep and clean their hooves. On the humourous side, she shares other bits of information she has picked up over the years -- that geese have bad breath and that turkeys are not very intelligent. And as far as working the land, she warns that planting and picking two acres of pickle cucumbers by hand is darn hard work!
Boulton does not shy away from the dark side of rural life. She abhours “dog dumping”, the practice city people have of leaving their unwanted puppies and kittens on the lane near a farm, hoping the farmer will find them and give them a home. They believe that people living in the country always have room for another dog or cat which is not always true and completely ignore the dangers these poor animals face from predators such as hawks or from cars on the road. It often means the farmer is left to do what the pet owner should have done in the first place, take care of their problem. She also talks about the vandalism that exists in rural areas, the smashing of mailboxes or the stealing of Christmas trees. It is all part of living in the country.
This volume is a fun and enjoyable read. Boulton writes about the joys and aggravations of country living with the acute sense of a writer with keen observations and a touch of absurdity and humour. It was an effort that made this volume a best seller and earned the 1996 Stephen Leacock Award for Humour.
Driving through the Southwestern Ontario countryside with a real estate agent, Boulton found a huge Victorian farmhouse that she loved and bought it. She figured with technology and the internet, she could work, live in the country, grow healthy food, write and make some money raising sheep. She decided on sheep because she thought they were small enough for her to manage and they didn’t bite!
Boulton takes both a serious and humourous approach describing her progress learning to farm and raise sheep. It was a difficult journey and she made many mistakes, but it was not just leaning about farming that challenged her, becoming part of the community was one of the first hurdles she faced.
Bouton explains how neighbours and friendships are different in the country. In the city, none of her neighbours spoke to her or knew much about her. In the country, neighbours may be physically more distant but interact with one another regularly. Everyone knows everyone else including what they do, where they go, their family situation and the condition of their health. Surviving in the country is only possible with the support of neighbours and friends. They are the ones you need when you get in trouble or need advice and the ones who watch out and protect you. There are few, if any, other supports. But buying a piece of property in the neighborhood does not automatically gain you acceptance as a “neighbour”. Each new member of the community must earn this standing over time. Boulton speaks of the hours she spent bowling, at auctions, playing cards, attending dances and exhibiting livestock with her neighbours during which she was assessed, judged and finally earned her space among them. Now she not only knows every car that passes by the farm, but who is at the wheel, where they are headed and why! If her mail or her newspapers are not picked up on the lane leading to her house, she knows the mailman will come knocking on her door to check that she is alright. Although at one time she might have shied away and considered this an intrusion in her life, that is no longer true. It is her neighbours she credits with teaching her the most about farming. She spent hours with these knowledgeable farmers in their fields and barns learning so much more than she could ever pick up from books.
Bouton shares various anecdotes in her process of learning, describing times in the lambing shed as a midwife overseeing hundreds of births and learning to shear the older sheep and clean their hooves. On the humourous side, she shares other bits of information she has picked up over the years -- that geese have bad breath and that turkeys are not very intelligent. And as far as working the land, she warns that planting and picking two acres of pickle cucumbers by hand is darn hard work!
Boulton does not shy away from the dark side of rural life. She abhours “dog dumping”, the practice city people have of leaving their unwanted puppies and kittens on the lane near a farm, hoping the farmer will find them and give them a home. They believe that people living in the country always have room for another dog or cat which is not always true and completely ignore the dangers these poor animals face from predators such as hawks or from cars on the road. It often means the farmer is left to do what the pet owner should have done in the first place, take care of their problem. She also talks about the vandalism that exists in rural areas, the smashing of mailboxes or the stealing of Christmas trees. It is all part of living in the country.
This volume is a fun and enjoyable read. Boulton writes about the joys and aggravations of country living with the acute sense of a writer with keen observations and a touch of absurdity and humour. It was an effort that made this volume a best seller and earned the 1996 Stephen Leacock Award for Humour.
December 18, 2017
Marsha Boulton is many things including an author. In "Letters from the Country" she is raising sheep and assorted other animals on her farm in Ontario. But mostly sheep. This book, the 1st of 3, is a delightful collection of tales from her home and her land. The stories are amusing and heartwarming accounts of her neighbours and her beasts.
The book is easy to read while waiting for the next bus or lying in bed. I tried to limit myself to 1 chapter per night before lights out but sometimes I couldn't help myself and just had to read the next few pages, and then the next few after that.
I am looking forward to starting book #2!
The book is easy to read while waiting for the next bus or lying in bed. I tried to limit myself to 1 chapter per night before lights out but sometimes I couldn't help myself and just had to read the next few pages, and then the next few after that.
I am looking forward to starting book #2!
December 11, 2018
I love country life stories and was looking forward to laughing my way through this book, since it won the Stephen Leacock Award For Humor. About 3/4 of the way through I still hadn't laughed and I was feeling pretty disappointed, so I chose to disregard the expectation of humor and I enjoyed the book much better after that. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in farm life and animal stories, but not if you're looking for humor.
September 21, 2022
Marsh writes humourous short aspects of her adult farm life in Ontario, Canada. Many including critters of all types as well as things the grow ad what the neighbours and community are up to.
For the farming novice there are things to learn about farming as well.
For the farming novice there are things to learn about farming as well.
June 11, 2019
Funny and engaging. Saga of shepherds.
May 29, 2023
I liked the book. Short stories of all the trials & tribulations of running a small farm. Some funny, but always an acute observational eye of life.
I will read more of her musings.
I will read more of her musings.
May 12, 2024
A delightful book of short stories set in south-western Ontario (an area familiar to me).
Read
April 18, 2025Cute little farm stories
October 16, 2011
This is one of my comfort books. When I'm feeling down or out of sorts, I take refuge in a hot bath with this book. The book is a collection of stories written by a woman who moves from the big city (the 'big smoke' as her country neighbours call it) to a farm. The stories are arranged by season and there is a good variety of topics. The writing is light but very competently written nonetheless.
December 7, 2014
Another book that I had to quit. It is just too flaky and self-indulgent. Try reading "The Dirty Life" if you want a decent back-to-the-country story. This evidently won the Leacock Award. I doubt it will stand the test of time.
May 14, 2012
Love the short tales which allow me to read a few chapters before bedtime. I live in a rural area and can identify with the stories in this book.
December 3, 2012
This is just so entertaining and funny a book - I dare anyone to not laugh out loud when reading it. She even has a solution for getting rid of door to door sales people and religion peddlers.
September 4, 2013
Hilarious
April 20, 2014
Fun and funny anecdotes about rural and farm life from a city transplant. A really enjoyable read.
March 30, 2017
I have read every Marsha Boulton book written about life on her farm. I discovered the first book in 1996, I had borrowed it from the public library to read while in the hospital after surgery. I really loved it, however, the library did not have any more of her work. About 3 years ago, I was browsing a charity shop's books when, to my delight I found first one, then a couple more! I snatched them up then went home and searched amazon, where I was able to order two more. I have read all of the farm books now and enjoyed them very much. Right now they are all on loan to my cousin!
Hope that Marsha is still living the good life on her farm.
Hope that Marsha is still living the good life on her farm.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews