The House in the Woods

The stoves in these deserted houses are now cold, but their rooms have attracted new inhabitants from the nearby woods.An ambiguous atmosphere reigns in the houses. The melancholic spirits of the last residents linger in the structures and abandoned household items even though the living quarters have been taken over by new noises: a rustle in the corner, quiet footsteps under the floorboards. Squeaks, shadows and rapid movement. Mice, squirrels, foxes and badgers as well as numerous species of birds live in nooks and crannies. Nature is reclaiming what it only gave away for a loan.By recording some of the last visitors to these houses falling into decay, Heikki Willamo and Kai Fagerström have managed to create a magical and fabulous pictorial world. Willamo's gripping prose is punctuated by Risto Rasa's delightful poems. The Finnish edition of this charming and fresh nature book has reached its second print. The English edition will be published in 2011.The book reached the final of the WWF Nature Book of the Year competition in 2010. Kai Fagerström's photographs of animals in deserted houses won him the top prize in his category in the Nature Photograph of the Year competition and a recommendation in the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in 2010.