Round the Water Trough Recommends

It was good to hear from blogger and author Hannah Velten who blogs at 'Round the Water Trough' and is linked here on farmblogs.blogspot.com ( http://watertrough.blogspot.com/ )

Hannah grew up on a farm in East Sussex, England and has been involved with agriculture all her life, "apart from now!" she writes.

She lives opposite a dairy farm, and "apart from saying 'good morning' to the 'girls' when I walk the dog I have no contact with farm animals at all."

"My uncle," she continues "still overwinters a few sheep, but he and my father used to farm pigs, cattle and sheep (over 20 years ago). I do miss not having contact with animals (although I write about them all the time now), so I regularly delve into farming websites to get my 'fix' - 'cos they do say that 'farming's in the blood'. My blog is therefore not actually a 'farm blog' but I do tell a few tales about farm animals - such as the sheep that were herded over London Bridge and the pigs on trial for murder in medieval France..."

Hannah is the author of an absolutely wonderful book called "Cow", which I can highly recommend. Here's what England's equivalent to the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times wrote about her book:

"It's a book about cows. And bulls, and oxen. The entire history and the cultural, religious and economic significance of everything bovine. If you are a typical modern person, removed from the mud and guts of nature, this may strike you as odd or whimsical. Still, the book's design and illustrations are beautiful, which means, I suspect, that COW will probably be bought most often as a gift - for country lovers, perhaps. For once, thought, the text matches the packaging. Velten has a passion for her subject and it comes across. Her account is sweeping but precisely detailed, and subtly persuasive. You come to believe her theme isn't odd at all: this kind of study and awareness should be mainstream. Look hard at cows an you learn about humans. Fascinating and delightful."
Financial Times (Nov 10/11 2007)

You can buy this book at Amazon:

USA:http://www.amazon.com/Cow-Reaktion-Books-Hannah-Velten/dp/1861893264/ref=sr_1_1/105-6940117-9936427?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189627518&sr=8-1

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cow-Animal-Hannah-Velten/dp/1861893264/ref=sr_1_1/202-1632936-7183056?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189607951&sr=1-1


Hannah's own blog is a treasure trove of the unusual and delightful, and she reads all the UK blogs listed on www.farmblogs.blogspot.com

Her two further recommendations are:

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (USA): http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/

The Edge Of Nowhere (UK): http://the-edge-of-nowhere.blogspot.com/