Saturday 8 November 2014

The dance of life.

 I remember the first time I saw a hare in the wild.   I was walking across fields with Gramps and Pincher the dog.      I thought it was a rabbit.   Grandfather delighted in telling me the difference between the two.....also the legends attached to the hare.
 Since that time they have fascinated me.   Sadly they are in serious decline..........I have not seen one for a long long time.
 When I saw a hare for sale in a shop window,  I had to go in and take a look.   I loved the sculpture .....I knew it would be perfect for the house.     Mr P and I no longer buy Christmas presents for each other......for no other reason than as you get older there is little you truly need.   So, if we see something we truly love, we buy it........in short this is my Christmas present from Mr P.
This piece will be treasured for a long time.............


.......and the mist thins to reveal the southwest......a shining wheat field, speckled with brilliant blue cornflowers and red poppies.    There are picnic baskets spilling the remains of the labourers food.   One field has been scythed, except for a single tussock.    A heat haze blurs your vision, and in the rolling landscape you sense a shining figure.    The men are standing back in a   group from the last swathe of grain and one by one they throw their scythes to cut through it.   As the last scythe flies, the air shimmers and the grain is sheared like the head of the solar king, crowned with wheat.   As the bright stems fall among the poppies, a huge hare bounds from the stubble and disappears across the fields.   The heat haze turns to mist which obscures the scene, leaving you  with the bittersweet taste of sacrifice and harvest.....the dance of life.

The path of Druidry...................Penny Billington.

Have a good weekend

8 comments:

  1. This hare will bring you many fond memories. It has a lot of life in it. I can see why you were drawn to it. This time of year the rabbits are more noticable since the farmers are finishing combining. Love the book exerpt. I hope you have a great weekend too.

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  2. I have been looking for a piece of art for quite a while. The hare is perfect........along with the fox it is my favourite wild animal...............

    The piece shows a bygone age Lisa.....a time which I love. When the countryside was a lot quieter.
    Things change..........

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  3. Hi Cheryl
    Looks like someone has been having a play with the customisation. When the lavender colour came on screen I thought I had got through to the wrong blog.

    We used to have a lot of hares in the field behind us -you could see their scrapes in the ground. Sadly, like you, I haven't seen one there for years.

    Love that piece of writing - it invokes a time when farming held a love of the land with manual labour, horses instead of tractors and living with the seasons.

    Enjoy the rest of the weekend - love that hare sculpture by the way - may it bring you enjoyment and pleasure.

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    Replies
    1. To be honest Elaine I was feeling a bit bored with seeing the same thing on my screen.
      I am not sure I like what I have done but it will do for now :)

      Isn't it sad that so much of our precious wildlife is in decline. My childhood memories are becoming more and more precious to me. That could of course be an age thing.......

      I try not to use any mechanical tools in the garden.....I find them intrusive. It makes the work more labour intensive, but I do not mind that.
      I love the writing also........it reminded me of you and the way you portray the landscape on your lovely posts.

      Each time I look at the hare I love it a little bit more.........it is a keeper :)

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  4. Strangely enough I have seen the last few years on our holidays to rural England more hares than in our own country. That's why my husband bought me last year in the National Trust Shop in Salisbury a bronze hare which is now in my garden as a memory. So funny you got a hare as a present from your husband too.

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  5. Janneke that is wonderful to hear that you have seen hares in UK......warms my heart.

    What a beautiful gift.......we are fortunate to have such generous husbands :)

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  6. I'm not sure I've ever seen a hare before. Love your sculpture--for me, hares always make me think of fairy tales and legends. The passage from the book is beautiful--so descriptive and captures a long-ago time; I think of my grandfathers and great-grandfathers harvesting their wheat.

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  7. Indeed Rose, I always associate the hare with myth and magic. There are many legends surrounding the hare.....
    I love the passage, I sometimes wish I could return to those days for a brief moment :)

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