Ruth Fouts Pochmann (1903–1993)

Maybe 3 & 1/2. It's not what I wanted and not what I expected. I was hoping for a book of stories about family, growing up, etc. with the farm as the background. Instead Pochmann wrote a book about the trees on the farm, the birds, the animals, the flowers, etc. How they had to plant 1000 white pines to control erosion, 5000 red pines, these bushes in this place, other bushes in other places. It's also published in 1968 about events that took place in the 1950's, so really dated. It's about Waushara County, which isn't where I live, so it didn't have that local connection to me either. But Pochmann did do an amazing job cataloging the flora and fauna.… (altro)

Triple Ridge Farm is a real place in Waushara County, Richford Township in Wisconsin about 70 miles north of Madison. The author and her husband, a professor of American literature in Madison, bought it as a weekend/summer retreat. One of the major attractions was the Wedde Creek that flowed through it because Professor Pochmann was a dry fly fisherman. The book details their hard work in restoring the house, planting thousands of trees and creating pools. In the midst of all this work they took time to appreciate the natural beauty and the flora and fauna that shared this area with them.

The summer before we got married, my husband and I took a trip to Wisconsin. We loved the farmland which seemed so idyllic and this book brought back all those wonderful memories.… (altro)