Hobblebush Books

An older man, fit enough to tramp over the family farm he knew as a boy, returns to probe what remains of the place where he worked and played, and to study the changes that are occurring on the land since it began its return to wildness sixty years ago. Artifacts and memories merge in this reflective, lyrical history of land-use in south-central New Hampshire.

Drawing on his training as a biologist and his appreciation of literature,
the author takes his readers on a field trip through the diverse habitats
emerging on the centuries-old farm, sprinkling insights from American
prose and poetry and leads them to the conclusion that there is much to gain from an appreciation of wildness.

“Observational, poetic and refreshingly nonjudgmental, Seeking Parmenter twines the human and natural history of a classic New England farm into a seamless narrative told through the author’s journey across the landscape and time. We should all be so lucky as Charles Butterfield to have such a lifelong attachment to a place on the land.”—Ryan Owens, Executive Director of the Monadnock Conservancy

“A moving and evocative exploration of the intertwining of place and history.” —William Edelglass, Professor, Marlboro College