Scratching the Woodchuck: Nature on an Amish Farm

by David Kline

David Kline came upon a sleeping woodchuck one summer day as he walked the land near his farm. In a gesture that speaks eloquently of Kline's relationship with the natural world, he scratched the animal gently with his walking stick, and the sleeping creature arched its back with pleasure at the attention.Like its title, this collection of essays on nature, farming, animals, insects, and other topics bespeaks the gentle demeanor and appreciation for nature that shape the author's descriptions of the world around him. Whether sharing his fondness for watching clouds while he rests his horses or for planting flowers in his favorite spot in the woods, David Kline offers a view of life that few of us take time to experience. Scratching the Woodchuck resounds with knowledge, reverence, and a joyful spirit, and to follow Kline's explorations of the landscape and animals around his farm is to sense and come to share his respect for and unity with the earth.

Genres: Nonfiction, Amish, Nature, Memoir, Essays, Science

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

David Kline is the author of Great Possessions: An Amish Farmer's Journal. A member of an Amish community, he lives on a farm near Fredericksburg, Ohio.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.
Henry David Thoreau

There is a mole living in one of our basement window wells. Earlier, in the spring, a toad was hanging out there. I don't know if there was an epic battle over the territory, or if they are somehow sharing the space, sort of like nature's Odd Couple. (I imagine the toad would be Oscar Madison, though I could be wrong.) Every now and then when I'm out on the patio, I hear little scratching sounds, and if I sit very still, the mole will waddle quickly by my chair, off for a day of doing mole stuff.

The first essay in this delightful book is about moles. Kline devotes much of his time to studying and writing about the more "unlovable" creatures that dwell in the fields and woods. Spiders, snakes, toads and weasels are all given their due. And all serve as reminders that though nature may be cruel and messy, and occasionally gross and smelly, it is always, always magnificent.

Kline has more time to notice the world around him than many farmers as he plows his fields with horses instead of a tractor. His essays range from owls - (currently trendy, cute decorative items in teen girls' bedrooms, they are in reality quite vicious predators) - to woolly bear caterpillars - (as I always suspected, their coloring is entirely a matter of genetics and NOT a predictor of the severity of the coming winter.)

This book meant a lot to me, since I seem to be the only person I know who really enjoys looking at things that dwell in the outdoors. My kids will humor me long enough to come take a look at an unusual bird or an interesting bug, but then they hurry back inside where Facebook and season-whatever of 'Top Gear' await. I know the neighbors think I'm nuts for standing in the yard, staring at the sky.

What a relief to find there's someone else like me.

Here is just a bit of Kline's essay called "Clouds":

For me, the most enjoyable clouds to watch are the puffy, low-level cumulus clouds of warm seventy-five degree afternoons. Sailing like clipper ships through the otherwise clear sky, a cumulus cloud the size of a football field may contain only enough water to fill a bathtub. Even as the clouds race east with the currents of a brisk wind, there is a constant roiling within as parts move into the wind, then turn and billow back into the rest of the cloud.

Recently I was told that great egrets, those lanky white heronlike birds that wade around in murky swamps watching for fish and frogs, are the departed spirits of birders and cloud watchers---which explains that permanent crook in their neck.

Hey, I'm cool with that.

[marcus miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This kind of book may not be written anymore because too many of us have our eyes fixated on our smartphones. Kline describes the wildlife which makes its way to his farm in Holmes County, Ohio. In short chapters he describes the sleeping woodchuck he tickles with his walking stick, birds, flowers and more which he discovers while he farms and walks around his property. We live on the edge of a small town and while reading this book we had several inches of snow. A few days later no human has walked in our back yard, yet the snow shows we've had many visitors, numerous birds, rabbits, squirrels, maybe a coon or opossum. I will need to start paying more attention.

[SoulSurvivor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was soooo out of character for me : An Amish farmer describing the wildlife and flora around his NE Ohio farm . After a steady diet of Espionage , Crime , Police , Terrorism , Violence , I needed something to bring my blood pressure down . This was the perfect vehicle . I actually enjoyed and maybe envied the slow motion life on his farm ; plus , he is a good writer .

P.S. To others that don't know what a meadow vole is ; it's a field mouse .

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this kind of book with its bucolic essays of a time, place, and way of life that folks love to call "simple." There's more complexity in the observations and daily work being done than most "modern" folks could ever hope to keep up with. It's a lovely read - bittersweet since so much of that environment and way-of-life are in danger (although Kline doesn't dwell on that point) - and almost meditative in its ability to portray the sights, scents, and sounds as Kline supplies them. There are essays from around the year so there are a few that focus on winter but for the most part they surround spring, summer, and fall which makes them a perfect antidote for that miserable slushy day outside your window.

Side note because it took me almost 3 years to finish these essays - it is in no way a reflection on the book. I hit a pretty significant reading slump at the end of 2020/early 2021 that's still trying to pull me down. So this just had the misfortune to be half-read when that happened and got buried in a stack of unfinisheds. I'm kind of glad it did because I got to revisit it on this side of things.

[David Rudin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful series of short essays on all things nature. Whether its particular birds, weather, the Red Fox, Northern Lights the essays are written with a special reverence and joy that make them special to read.
Kline breaks the book up into sections: The Farmstead, The Fields, The Woods, Creek and Sky and The Community. All were equally enjoyable and open up a special corner of the world to outsiders. While not as personal as his Rounds of a Country Year, these essays are every bit as enjoyable.

[Colleen Mertens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a reflection on the natural world as seen on an Amish farm. The stories are vivid in their descriptions of the world around us that we often ignore. At times it moves slowly and one or two of the essays could have been removed to make the book more interesting. I loved the bird watching and counting and Kline's thoughts on the changes of life happening always.

[Lanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in one sitting while boiling maple sap down. It was a beautiful day to be outside and Kline would have approved. I really liked his writing style and this was a quaint book I would recommend only to those who love plants and wildlife. The average person wouldn't appreciate it.

[Elizabeth Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read on everything living and breathing on a farm and fields. To see creation through his eyes was educational and enlightening. It was great!

[James P · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at the environment through the eyes of an Amish farmer.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun series of articles about observing nature on an Amish farm in the 1980s.

[Rob Kuret]

A great read! Mr. Kline shows us his great knowledge and love of farming and nature on his farm.

[Laura Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read for nature lovers

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8

[Jill Furedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title caught my attention in a review from Bookmarks magazine a few years ago, and the little blurb about how the title came about sounded awfully cute. But not knowing much more than that about the book, I assumed I'd l learn a bit about the Amish family and hear about the author's unique interactions with nature. I was disappointed that the woodchuck story was just a sentence or two and not much else in the book matched that kind of interaction. The book is not much more than a list of the animals he sees or hears throughout the changing seasons. He tells it so sincerely and is so interested in observing the life around him, that I couldn't help but enjoy his descriptions. It made me feel a bit guilty for being so thoroughly unaware of the names and habits of the flora and fauna around me: my parents live in the suburbs, but can name most plants and trees of the area and identify most birds by song or sight...I picked up very little of that and now being in a different state and climate, am very uneducated in my surroundings. So I enjoyed his quiet descriptions and explanations, but still wished just a bit for more moments like the woodchuck, that amused and surprised me rather than just educating me.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful one to pair with Ned Smith's Gone For The Day. Kline is not a scientist, he is a man who notices things and writes down what he observes, as anecdotes from nature and those small miracles of otherwise ordinary days when stopping the cultivator so that the horse might have a rest from its labor gives an Amish farmer a chance to look around, ponder the clouds or notice a tree on the edge of the field. We often look but don't really see and ponder what we are seeing. That takes a bit of time that is often squandered in other ways in a busy life. Kline helps us take a step back from that busy life to see what is all around us by letting us walk through a natural year on his Ohio farm and see the things that he has seen, the sort of things we can all see if we take the time to look.

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a pleasant little discourse on the nature in my own homestate. Kline is an Amish farmer with a written calm that drifts peacefully into the mind of the modern reader. He began his appreciation of nature, in particular birds, the weather, and plant life, from a naturalist schoolteacher during his childhood years. He also gained the opposing perspective, serving his conscientious objector service during Vietnam in a Cleveland hospital. Most of the book explores the various creatures and plant species he has encountered on his farm and the surrounding countryside. The last few chapters also touch on the community spirit of the Amish people.

[Mel Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need half stars. This book is just slightly less satisfying than David Kline's Great Possessions. Knowing that there are people who are deeply connected to the land and retain a sense of wonder is deeply comforting to me in a way that I cannot articulate and is not logical in the least. I will never be able to be connected to a place in the manner that Mr. Kline is, but it gives me something to strive for as I read on winter afternoons, mentally planning out my next years garden.

[Jec · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have been going to the amish country in pennsylvania since i was knee high to a grasshopper. being a quilter i just love it...i find it peaceful and waist increasing. this book is filled with little stories of an amish ohio farmer and his seasonal observations from the farm. i loved it...with our hectic lives it reminds us that we should take time to stop to smell the manure.

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've met David once and he is a wonderful lecturer, or more appropriately story-teller. From nightcrawlers to wildflowers, David ponders the small details in nature, which can easily be overlooked. You don't have to be an Amish dairy farmer to appreciate his stories.

[winona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave Kline's one of my heroes. He writes, "Sometimes I wonder whether I farm to make a living or whether it is all a front, just an excuse to be out in the fields looking at clouds." His books are full of the kind of joy you get from paying attention to the world around you.

[William Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet book by a quiet man. Very few people are able to see the world around them and simply find delight in it. A wonderful insight into the world that is all arounds us, at least for the folks that live in the country.

[Ben Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an enjoyable read that takes you on a nature hike around the Amish farm with David Kline. While you read and get to know more about nature and animals in the surrounding Ohio countryside, you might even learn some scientific facts and even some folklore.
Thanks for taking along with you!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a peaceful book of essays of the wildlife found on a farm in Ohio. It really makes me pay attention to the birds and animals we find in our own backyard.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this quite as much as "Great Possessions," but still a great collection of essays on nature by an Ohio Amish farmer.

[Marya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! One of the few books I enjoy rereading.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The simple lives lead by the amish folk give them a lot of time to observe and enjoy nature - something we all should do. This is a collection of the author's observations.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

More about nature than actually referring to the Amish. This book just happens to be written by an Amish man.

[Patrick Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kline is very observant of nature, plants, animals and people, in great detail. Great read.

[Dawn Meyers]

Great book. Written by an Amish farmer, living in Ohio, which is where I live. This book is a collection of short essays about different birds, mammals, insects, and natural happenings that the author observes on his farm. I was humbled to realize how much I do not notice and never knew about the nature that surrounds me. I will definitelyl reread this book, and pass it along to others.