Marc Hamer

'It is rare to encounter such respect and understanding of nature for herself.' Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows A life-affirming book about the British countryside, the cycle of nature, solitude and contentment, through the prism of a brilliant new nature writer's experience working as a traditional mole-catcher, and why he gave it up. I have been catching moles in gardens and farms for years and I have decided that I am not going to do it any more. Molecatching is a traditional skill that has given me a good life but I am old now and tired of hunting and it has taught me what I needed to learn. Although common, moles are mysterious- their habits are inscrutable, they are anatomically bizarre, and they live completely alone. Marc Hamer has come closer to them than most, both through his long working life out in the Welsh countryside, and his experiences of rural homelessness as a boy, sleeping in hedgerows. Over the years, Marc has learned a great deal about these small, velvet creatures who live in the dark beneath us, and the myths that surround them, and his work has also led him to a wise and uplifting acceptance of the inevitable changes that we all face. In this beautiful and meditative book, Marc tells his story and explores what moles, and a life in nature, can tell us about our own humanity and our search for contentment. How to Catch a Mole is a gem of nature writing, beautifully illustrated by Joe McLaren, which celebrates living peacefully and finding wonder in the world around us.

How to Catch a Mole

Any garden belongs to everyone who sees it - it is like a book and everybody who visits it will find different things. Marc Hamer has designed and nurtured 12 acres of garden for over two decades. It is rarely visited so he is the only person who fully knows its secrets; but it is not his own. His relationship with the garden's owner is both distant and curiously intimate, steeped in the mysterious connection which exists between two people who inhabit the same space in very different ways. In this life-enhancing book Marc takes us month-by-month through his experiences both working in the garden and outside it, as the seasons' changes bring new plants and wildlife to the fore and lead him to reflect on his past and future. Through his peaceful and meditative prose we learn about gardening folklore and wisdom, the joys of manual labour, his path from solitary homelessness to family contentment and the cycle of growth and decay that runs through both the garden's life and our own. Beautifully illustrated, Seed to Dust is a moving and restorative account of a life lived in harmony with nature. You've seen gates like that at the side of the road, you've wondered what's behind them. They really are the entrance to the wonders you imagined.

A Gardener's Story

Seed to Dust

For readers of Late Migrations and Vesper Flights From the acclaimed author of How to Catch a Mole, this meditative memoir explores the wisdom of plants, the joys of manual labor, and the natural cycle of growth and decay that runs through both the garden’s life and our own. Marc Hamer has nurtured the same 12-acre garden in the Welsh countryside for over two decades. The garden is vast and intricate. It’s rarely visited, and only Hamer knows of its secrets. But it’s not his garden. It belongs to his wealthy and elegant employer, Miss Cashmere. But the garden does not really belong to her, either. As Hamer writes, “Like a book, a garden belongs to everyone who sees it.” In Seed to Dust, Marc Hamer paints a beautiful portrait of the garden that “belongs to everyone.” He describes a year in his life as a country gardener, with each chapter named for the month he’s in. As he works, he muses on the unusual folklores of his beloved plants. He observes the creatures who scurry and hide from his blade or rake. And he reflects on his own life: living homeless as a young man, his loving relationship with his wife and children, and—now—feeling the effects of old age on body and mind. As the seasons change, Hamer also reflects on the changes he has observed in Miss Cashmere’s life from afar: the death of her husband and the departure of her children from the stately home where she now lives alone. At the book’s end, Hamer’s connection to Miss Cashmere changes shape, and new insights into relationships and the beauty and brutality of nature emerge. Just like all good books and gardens, Seed to Dust is filled with equal parts life and death, beauty and decay, and every reader will find something different to admire.

Life, Nature, and a Country Garden

Spring Rain

Kuidas püüda mutti. Ja leida ennast looduses.

Marc Hamer hat einen seltsamen Beruf: Er ist Maulwurfsfänger. Er liebt die Einsamkeit, die Tiere und Pflanzen. Als Jugendlicher hatte er mehrere Monate kein Zuhause und schlief unter freiem Himmel. Seitdem ist sein Leben untrennbar verbunden mit dem Werden und Sterben der wilden Natur. Später, als er sich ein Heim geschaffen hatte, fing er Maulwürfe - nur mit der Geduld und Langsamkeit, die ihn das Leben mit der Natur gelehrt hatte, konnte er die klugen Tiere überlisten. Doch je älter er wurde, desto weniger wollte Marc Hamer sie töten. Von einem Tag auf den anderen beschloss er, damit aufzuhören. Poetisch und klug erzählt der Autor von seiner letzten Saison als Maulwurfsfänger. Behutsam zeichnet er ein Bild von einem Leben im Einklang mit der Umwelt, vom Entstehen und von der Vergänglichkeit, vom Töten und vom Glück.

Ein poetisches Plädoyer für das Leben im Einklang mit der Natur

Wie man einen Maulwurf fängt

A captivating, life-affirming memoir of a life in nature that celebrates finding wonder in our world. 'A wonderful book... It has taught me a lot. I feel great love for it' MAX PORTER At the age of sixteen, Marc Hamer left home with only a rucksack and started walking. By day, he observed the animals and birds. By night, he slept under hedges, in woodlands and on riverbanks. It was the beginning of a life in nature. Years later, now working as a gardener and mole-catcher in the Welsh countryside, Marc tells of the experiences that have shaped him and of the wonders that he encounters each day. He considers, too, the fascinating ways of the mole and the myths that surround this curious creature. This beautiful, meditative book explores what nature can teach us about ourselves and our search for contentment. It is a celebration of living peacefully and finding joy in the world around us. 'It is rare to encounter such respect and understanding of nature' Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows ** Longlisted for The Wainwright Prize 2019 ** (Published in hardback as How to Catch a Mole)

Marc Hamer

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