"Since that first day when I found her it has felt as if a spell was cast over this corner of the earth, and me within it. I have stepped out of my usual life and had the privilege of an experience out of the ordinary. Had it not been for the unique circumstances of the pandemic, I would never have come across the hare, and my life would have continued along its familiar
Grooves."
Chloe Dalton's Raising Hare is a book I never would have put on my reading list. Memoirs are not a genre I enjoy. In fact I would have passed it over in a heartbeat except for one thing...
...my son, Adam, gave it to me for Christmas. When Adam gives or recommends a book it's one I wouldn't think to pick up. But it becomes one I wouldn't want to have missed out on. Raising Hare is no exception.
Dalton was a political adviser to public figures, putting her career above all else. She worked on weekends and holidays. She avoided making fixed plans that would render her unable to grab a bag and travel to deal with a crisis on a few hour's notice.
Then, like so many of us, she found her life derailed by the pandemic, forced to move from London to a secluded home in the English countryside. One day she found a leveret, a baby hare, lying alone and was faced with a dilemma. If she left it where it was it would probably be devoured by a predator. But if she tried to care for it it would probably die. As you can probably guess she took it home and tried to raise it as a wild creature destined to return to the wilderness rather than as a pet. There are four strands to her narrative.
The first is her observations which are perceptive, detailed, and often quite beautiful. The leveret doesn't die and matures and gives birth to leveret litters of her own. Although Dalton doesn't try to domesticate them to the point of not giving them names, they inhabit her home and garden as well as the wild spaces beyond.
The second is the knowledge she gains from her wide ranging research on hares. In fact each chapter begins with a colorful quote she gleaned from her readings.
The third is her candid observations on how the experience changed her profoundly. She came to see that the constantly on call, low commitment lifestyle she'd formerly considered freedom was actually exhausting.
"Whereas I had been impervious to the well-intentioned advice from friends [about the danger of burnout], the leveret worked upon my character soundlessly and wordlessly, easing some of the nervous tension and impatience that I had been living with as a result of a life constantly on the move and on call for others."
Finally there are her epiphanies about the impacts of humans on the natural world and animals.
Winter can be a good time for slowing down and reflecting. If this is appealing to you Raising Hare is a good addition to your to read list.
On a purrrsonal note, we in central Maine have been buried under yet another snow storm. Eugene got called out to plow in the middle of the night. He just got back and is eating the breakfast I cooked for him. I've set a goals for myself for this last day before spring semester starts: reading all of Marion Nestle's What To Eat Now. I sent for it by inter library loan two months ago. It's a hefty book the size of a grad school science textbook--as thick as my thumb is long--584 pages not counting appendices. So the chances of reading it in one day--slim to nonexistent. But it's something I have to do.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and the other blizzard battlers.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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