Her experiences you’ll find so much more detailed than just my very own

This experience has had a profound effect on me, and has forced me to re-evaluate my conception of the word home. During our stay in Northumberland, I came across a book entitled New Shepherd’s Lifestyle: A tale of the Lake Section on a bookshelf in the self-catering cottage we had rented for the week. I spent the evenings after rigorous walks along Hadrian’s Wall immersed in this work in an effort to learn what I could about the Lake District, where we would be heading next. The author’s name is James Rebanks, who is a sheep farmer in the Lake District fells to this day. The book is a description of a year on his farm, divided into four parts reflecting the seasons of the year. Rebanks talks about how more and more outsiders have been moving to the Lake District, feeling it a part of their collective heritage because they are English, even though they themselves know little of the ways of life that have flourished there for hundreds of years. Rebanks and his family are inexorably tied to the land they farm. The Lake District fells are their home, and though James has had many opportunities to leave the farming life behind and pursue a life more rewarding or meaningful, he was drawn back to the fells. James and his family can feel the very pulse of the land around them and possess, to some degree, the knowledge Chief Seattle and his people had. Without that knowledge, passed down from generation to generation, survival there would be impossible without sacrificing the ancient connection fostered by their ancestors. The outsiders Rebanks resents simply move onto the land without working it or doing anything to earn their place as a true local. I found myself yearning deeply for such a close connection to…anywhere. I don’t wish to romanticize things; such a life would be hard, at times dangerous or even life-threatening-but the rewards, the fulfillment, would be worth it. Read more