We Do Have Need of Thee

I.

O goat-foot God of Arcady!

This modern world is grey and old,

And what remains to us of thee?

No more the shepherd lads in glee

Throw apples at thy wattled fold,

O goat-foot God of Arcady!

Nor through the laurels can one see

Thy soft brown limbs, thy beard of gold,

And what remains to us of thee?

And dull and dead our Thames would be,

For here the winds are chill and cold,

O goat-foot God of Arcady!

Then keep the tomb of Helice,

Thine olive-woods, thy vine-clad wold,

And what remains to us of thee?

Though many an unsung elegy

Sleeps in the reeds our rivers hold,

O goat-foot God of Arcady!

Ah, what remains to us of thee?

II.

Ah, leave the hills of Arcady,

Thy satyrs and their wanton play,

This modern world hath need of thee.

No nymph or Faun indeed have we,

For Faun and nymph are old and grey,

Ah, leave the hills of Arcady!

This is the land where liberty

Lit grave-browed Milton on his way,

This modern world hath need of thee!

A land of ancient chivalry

Where gentle Sidney saw the day,

Ah, leave the hills of Arcady!

This fierce sea-lion of the sea,

This England lacks some stronger lay,

This modern world hath need of thee!

Then blow some trumpet loud and free,

And give thine oaten pipe away,

Ah, leave the hills of Arcady!

This modern world hath need of thee! 
~Oscar Wilde

Our Pan

PAN

“What was he doing, the great god Pan,Down in the reeds by the river?
Spreading ruin and scattering ban,
Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a goat,
And breaking the golden lilies afloat
With the dragon-fly on the river.

He tore out a reed, the great god Pan,
From the deep cool bed of the river:
The limpid water turbidly ran,And the broken lilies a-dying lay,
 and the dragon-fly had fled away,
Ere he brought it out of the river.

---

‘This is the way,’ laughed the great god Pan(Laughed while he sat by the river),
‘The only way, since gods began
To make sweet music, they could succeed.
’Then, dropping his mouth to a hole in the reed,
He blew in power by the river.

Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan!
Piercing sweet by the river!
Blinding sweet, O great god Pan!
The sun on the hill forgot to die and the lilies revived,
And the dragon-fly came back to dream on the river.

Yet half a beast is the great god Pan,
To laugh as he sits by the river,
Making a poet out of a man:
The true gods sigh for the cost and pain,
For the reed which grows nevermore again
As a reed with the reeds in the river.”

E. B. Browning.

HUZZAH! for BEAVERSTOCK I

Huzzah! Hurrah! for Beaverstock I!

Teresa from Eden Hills, Bev from Isobelle the Most Beautiful Goat In The World and myself all met up this weekend for a glorious time of Sisterhood!

What a lovely thing to meet your Goat Sisters for the first time!

Teresa, who will return to Iowa soon, will be posting a zillion pics she took with her *real* camera!
But in the mean time, please pop over to Facebook and search for SISTERHOOD OF THE GOAT!
I've posted some teaser pics there from my *not so real* camera!

You don't need a FB page to view but if you *like* the page (at the top) you can leave a comment.

Such a glorious weekend of Sisterhood!  Truly amazing!

Thanks to Blue Gryphon, our pirate mate and resident buck, for being there in Spirit!

I *will* give you a hint about how well the weekend went...........we met the goat god, Pan!

Oh, yes we did!  :)

Much love to all who follow the Sisterhood!  'Tis truly a heartwarming thing!

Much love,
~Fox, Teresa & Bev
xo

TATTIE BOGLES IN ART

As I continue to research my Tattie Bogle project I am amazed at every turn how deep and rich the history is.  Who would have thought that what we think of as the simple scarecrow would be the subject of so many beautiful works of art?  I am particularly fond of Gebler's sheep!  Though, sadly, I haven't found any Scarecrow With Goats paintings!  Probably because the goats ate the scarecrow before the 

artist could capture the moment!

At any rate, I could post here forever on the subject!

Here are a few of my favorites.

SHEEP REGARDING A SCARECROW

Friedrich Otto Gebler  1893

FAIR EXCHANGE IS NO ROBBERY

William Sydney Mount  1865 

BENNY'S SCARECROW

Andrew Wyeth 1955

SATURDAY EVENING POST

Norman Rockwell  1936

Simply amazing!

I love these works!

********************

Mommets and More!

Well, here we go!

Introducing:  TATTIE MAN!

I scoured the thrift store for weeks searching for the perfect Tattie Man to accompany me on my folk journey!  He needed to be just the right amount of old!  And this guy is!  I am so looking forward to our adventures over the next four months and coming back to share with you!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to discover that Tattie Bogles are MAGICAL!

Enjoy!

“Human beings must love something, and, in the dearth of worthier objects
of affection, I contrived to find a pleasure in loving and cherishing a
faded graven image, shabby as a miniature scarecrow. It puzzles me now
to remember with what absurd sincerity I doated on this little toy, half
fancying it alive and capable of sensation. I could not sleep unless it was
folded in my night-gown; and when it lay there safe and warm, I was
comparatively happy, believing it to be happy likewise.”

― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

The Tattie Bogle Extravaganza!

THE TATTIE BOGLE EXTRAVAGANZA!

I am nothing if not obsessive compulsive.

So, when I choose a theme for my storytelling life I go all out.

History, research, creative energy all go into the making of my themed presentations.

This year I have decided upon the theme:  Scarecrows.

Or, Tattie Bogles as I have come to think of them, always deferring to a Scots take on a

 project when possible.

I never thought much of scarecrows before but now that I have started my research I am AMAZED!

Such rich folklore....folk art...stories.

I must confess that I have cried a few tears reading every story as the scarecrows come to have human characteristics and I began to think of their life and purpose.

My first adventure will be at the community garden that I have co-coordinated in the community-

Project: GREEN

(find us on Facebook at Project: GREEN Clay, NY

I have scheduled a Garden Folk workshop so that each family make have their own, special Folk for their plot.  I can't wait to see a community garden full of Folk standing guard over our plantings and having (I really do believe!) moonlight adventures!

From there I plan to extend the theme for my gypsy storytelling this Autumn both in the community and for a special folklore project in our old, local cemetery:  MORGAN CEMETERY

(find the story on my Morgan Cemetery blog here at blogspot-my apologies for being a

 link-challenged blogger)

I look forward to meeting the Folk Yet To Be and the Tattie Bogle adventure!

I hope you'll join me!

Quite some years ago I became enamored of Corn Dollies and made quite a number of them from garden leavings.  I share them here with you today.  They are quite fragile now....but still greatly loved.  I like to think of them as wee Tattie Bogles.....not yet big enough for the fields........

Have YOU made a wee one from your garden scraps?

Please, won't you share?

Enjoy!  And thank you for your creative time.

*hugs*   ~Fox

Your Goat Can Never Have Too Much Lace.....

I have to admit.....my Rural Awareness Program seems to have taken a bit of a turn.

Farmer scratches his head.  Then laughs.  Then thinks naught of taking Miss Darla

for a promenade around the park!

So yeah....it's all good.

And you know what *I* always say.......

"Life's Short.......Use the Vintage Lace on the Goat!"

Gooseberry Fair 2012.....a smashing success!

Mimi & Darla

The extended Gooseberry Family!

The coveted dress on display

Goatie Kisses:  $1

Having a goat full of so much love:  Well, you know.

Shawna & Mimi and Every Girl's Friend..... Mustache on a Stick!