Review: Observations of an Accidental Farmer - and a Mindful Reader by Harry Kavros

 

Harry Kavros. Observations of an Accidental Farmer - and a Mindful Reader. Paul Dry Books. 2024. 

Kavros left Manhattan and his position of Dean at Columbia University for a new learning experience. He and his wife purchased and lived on a 22 acre farm that had fallen into disrepair. As Kavros cleans out a creek bed, cuts trees and branches with a chain saw, plants a thyme field to attract bees, raises Guinea and chickens, cleans the hen-house, and attends to his dogs; his minds takes him back to the literature that he read, digested, and taught over the years. His reflections, some only a couple of pages, some numerous pages, are all insightful and worthy of contemplation. His literary trained imagination and writing ennoble the quotidian nature of repetitive labor. I hope thoughtful farmers get a hold of this work. For those of us who toil in gardens, we too benefit from Kavros' talents. 

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