I ADORE living in the country. I know that some would find it a nightmare but not me. I love being close to nature, watching the gentle rhythems of the natural year reveal its treasures each and every day. Today we woke to a thick mist engulfing the countryside, hiding the hedgerows, trees and fields from our view.
Slowly, it dissipated during the course of the morning. By noon only wisps of mist remained in the lower reaches of fields and valleys.
The beauty of skeletal trees stretching their arms towards the heavens are stark against the crisp, clear sky. Such beauty.
As I stood quietly at the top of my drive looking over the fields beyond, I noticed three little sparrows bathing in the puddles left by recent rains. Happily, they splashed in the muddy pool oblivious to the occasional car passing by on the road just a few feet away from them. This is what I love about nature... the life that goes on mostly unobserved. Generally, people busily rush through their day, never stopping for a moment just to be still, breath and observe the natural world around them - that saddens me because there is great peace to be drawn from nature.
They waved and greeted me as the trotted past with their hounds running ahead of them. I must just add here that fox hunting is banned in England, Scotland and Wales. Nowadays the hounds follow a chemical trail laid across the countryside.
Anyhoo, it was interesting to see them all go by and of course, they all look terribly smart. Traditionally hunts take place on Boxing Day so I wonder why they were all out today?
I'm going to leave you with a lovely poem befitting of Christmas Eve but before I do, I just want to wish you all a very blessed and Merry Christmas. I'll see you after the festivities...
Christmas Carol
by Kenneth Grahame
Villages all, this frosty tide,
Let your doors swing open wide,
Though wind may follow and snow betide,
Yet draw us in by your fire to bide:
Joy shall be yours in the morning.
Here we stand in the cold and the sleet,
blowing fingers and stamping feet,
Come from far away, you to greet-
You by the fire and we in the street-
Bidding you joy in the morning.
For ere one half of the night was gone,
Sudden a star has led us on,
Raining bliss and benison-
bliss tomorrow and more anon,
Joy for every morning.
Good man Joseph toiled through the snow-
Saw the star o'er the stable low;
Mary she might not farther go-
Welcome thatch and litter below!
Joy was hers in the morning.
And then they heard the angels tell,
"Who were the first to cry noel?
Animals all as it befell,
In the stable where they did dwell!
Joy shall be theirs in the morning.
Dear Shirley Ann, first of all I want to wish you a very Happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year. I enjoy your writing and love to see England through your eyes. Thank you for sharing so much with us, and especially the citrus mince pie recipe, which I made today. With regard to the hunt...
ReplyDeleteFox hunting takes place all winter, it starts in the autumn with “cubbing”. The Boxing Day hunt is just one of the traditional days. As for following the rules, it’s difficult to explain them to the hounds who are following their noses, and may quite understandably follow a fox trail just as easily as the scent laid for them. Foxes are vermin, like rats, mice, crows and magpies and they all do a great deal of damage to farmers crops and flocks. Yes, we can all appreciate them as Gods creatures, doing the thing they do to stay alive; but countryside management is not only tradition or sport, it is a necessary part of country life and country livelihoods. As for the idea of the fox being chased and caught by the dogs, tell that to the bird or rabbit that the fox chased and caught earlier. Animals naturally hunt other animals. It is just the way they were made. I suspect you will see a lot more of the hunt if you are living in their area.
Hi Gill,
DeleteThank you for your comment...I hope you loved the citrus mince pie pastry :)
I know the havoc that foxes wreck, it really is awful and I suppose once you have seen all your chickens killed and left strewn about it would perhaps put things in a different light. My friend has had that happen and it is heart-breaking. I suppose the thought of what the dogs do to a fox is just as horrific to me as what a fox would do to lambs or chickens or any livestock. It's the harsh side of country living that most of us try to put away from our thoughts. My husband loves to watch African wildlife programs and I hate them because I always feel so sorry for the victim LOL. I would make a positively useless farmer, nothing I reared would ever make it to the slaughter house and we would end up being over-run by animals and poor because every penny would be spent on their maintenance :D Have a wonderful Christmas Gill, blessings to you and your family. Xx