Pride & Ploughing

 It is on a day like this day, when i feel i truly know myself.

There are rare moments in my life (and maybe in yours too?) when i feel a precious sensation of absolute Perfection.

A feeling that Life, my life, could hardly be more perfect than it is at this moment.

It is a feeling of absolute peace and happiness that i could not put into words.

If you want to get spiritual with me, it almost Transcendence.

Utter Beauty. Complete.

 This is the village where I live.

I grew up here. I moved back here.

When i was a child i felt that these fields, this sky, these roads, held me in. I seriously felt that they had me trapped and that this sky would suffocate me.

Now i feel the opposite. I feel that this Countryside is as close to perfection as i could ever get.

The Vintage Ploughing Festival this weekend was a sight that had me catch my breath. Because these are Farming Men & Women who are so proud of their heritage and who love these fields more than me.

 My Brother has deliberately parked his Company Truck in the Field Park, to gain maximum local public exposure. He is a crafty fox and i admire him for it. He is part of it. We are all, part of IT.

 It is genuinely exciting for the Kids to be driven around in a Tractor and Trailor.

Seriously, you can keep your HUGE attractions at Alton Towers (or wherever) this atmosphere is about families and laughing and tradition. These memories sit in the heart of rural families.

They get talked about over and over.

 Of course, for me, the fact that my Parents still live here is part of the Magic.

The fact my brother and his family moved back here... it is like Buttercream Icing and Chocolate Drop decorations on a cake that already tastes pretty good.

Most of the families i grew up with are still here, in some variation or another.

 And i love the smell of all the Barbour coats and hats. The Sheep Dung on the back heel of sturdy Equestrian footwear.

We've all got Dogs: Gun Dogs, Working Terriers, Domestic Labs and Sheep Herders....

We work them or they live as part of us, leaving their muddy pawprints on the sofas and quilts.

Walking them is no chore (unless you are under 19yrs old)

Neighbours know each other by the dogs they walk long before they know each other by name.

 I am launched into Double Heaven when the fields are newly ploughed.

Honestly, the sight of the field floors with the hay stubble and tractor tracks... the colour is golden! and it reflects the sky in a sort of illumination. I don't exaggerate... just see the paintings of Master Artists like Turner. There is nothing like Hay and Harvested fields to make the countryside glow.

 Ahem - forgive me.

 This day *might* have been pushed to the edge of perfection when my Girl won First Prize in the Art Competition.

The theme: Harvest! of course.

 Some readers might be aware...

The Government are putting a huge, sky high, High Speed Rail line right through these fields, pretty much here where i stand with my camera.

But this post isn't propaganda or a call to Arms.

It just breaks my heart to know it.

When i breathe it all in and hug this scenery to my heart, i just feel a heavy tear in my chest at the knowledge that these days are numbered.

I was *so* proud this weekend.

I was proud to be part of these families and traditons and fields that go back hundreds of generations, farmed by the Families Of, the Families Of, the Families Of, these families... since a time we can no longer remember.

It was just one of those moments in my Life when time stood still

and nothing could really be more perfect than it was at this moment.