In August Fields

Art: Rob Barnes.

See also the previous posts:
• A Time for Giving Thanks
• Lammastide
• Harvest Blessings

Morning Light

Image: The Leveret.

See also the previous posts:
• Hotel Room
• For a New Day . . . and a New Year
• Winter Light
• The Role of Reevaluation in the Gay Man’s Quest for Authenticity
• Morning Light – August 30, 2013
• Morning Light – May 5, 2012
• Morning Light – August 30, 2013

A Time for Giving Thanks

Welcome to August!
And wishing all a Happy Lammas
Lammas is a Christian holiday celebrated in some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere on August 1, the same date as the Gaelic harvest festival of Lughnasadh. It is the time for celebrating the first harvest and giving thanks for the abundance of the season.

The beautiful work of art that accompanies this post is by British artist Wendy Andrew. It’s from her book, Luna Moon Hare: A Magical Journey with the Goddess.

See also the previous posts:
• Lammastide
• Harvest Blessings

Yesteryear

Images: Subjects and photographers unknown.

See also the previous post:
• Yesteryear | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII
• The Art of Wilhelm von Gloeden
• The Art of Guglielmo Plüschow
• The Art of Felix d'Eon

And at The Leveret’s brother site, The Wild Reed, see:
• Manly Love
• Reclaiming the Power of Male Touch
• The Archetype of the Double and Male Eros, Friendships, and Mentoring
• A Fresh Take on Masculinity

The Sacred Phallus

If we understand that the phallus is sacred, we’ll realize that it’s not to be misused to spread disease or for empty, meaningless sex, but rather to connect physically with the creative power of another man in the awesome and cosmic act of phallic mating, the ultimate celebration of the male-male bond.

– Source

See also the previous posts:
• Phallus
• The Divine Masculine Principle
• Spiritual Phallicism
• “Downtown Heaven”
• Hard
• Not a Weapon or a Mere Tool
• Reaching Out
• Buddies | II | III | IV

Images: Andy Star and Sean Xavier (in an adult film by Lucus Video Productions).

Hare and Swallows

See also the previous posts:
• Up With the Larks
• The Return
• Hare Dancing With Moth
• An Extraordinary and Ancient Archetype
• Escape

Artwork: Catherine Hyde.

Bel Homme

Image: Subject and photographer unknown.

The Beauty of the Hare

Image: Photographer unknown.

See also the previous posts:
• The Beauty of the Hare | II | III
• A Remarkable Creature
• Golden-Coloured Eyes
• A Still Moment
• Mostly Solitary
• Unhoused
• Solitary Hare

Church Hare

Notes the website of the English village of Stow Bardolph:

Stow Bardolph centres around the site of Stow Hall, a stately mansion constructed by Nicholas Hare, Esq., Master of the Rolls and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in 1589. Nicholas Hare also constructed Hare Chapel – a large annexed dormitory for the internment of himself and family adjoining the Church, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

Since that time, the Hare family have played a significant role in the village’s history. In 1622, Sir Ralph Hare built six almshouses, and provided them with 86 acres of land for division among the inmates. Later, in 1744, Sarah Hare committed the “sin” of sowing on a Sunday. Whilst doing so, she pricked her finger and, shortly afterwards, died of blood poisoining.In her will, she requested that six poor men from the parish act as her pallbearers, and they each receive five shillings for their services.

She also bequeathed two shillings and sixpence to each of the poor residents of Alms Row, and requested that an effigy of her face and hands be made and placed in a Mahogany case, close to where she was buried. The effigy still remains in the Hare Chapel of Stow Bardolph’s Holy Trinity Church, acting as a warning to Sabbath breakers. It is the only funerary effigy of it’s kind outside of Westminster Abbey.

One pub remains in the centre of the village – the Hare Arms. The original building was erected during the Napoleonic wars (at a time when Nelson travelled through the village en route to his ship in London) and the transformation of the house into an inn took place when Captain Thomas Hare offered it to three soldiers.

Opening image: All Saints Church, Stow Bardolph, Norfolk, United Kingdom. (Photo: G. Butler)
Images 2 and 3: Photographers unknown.

A Summer Blessing

Blessed are you, summer
season of long days and short nights,
you pour forth light from your golden orb,
energizing the earth and calling forth growth.

Blessed are you, summer,
with your generous gift of heat.
Your warm breath animates creation,
encouraging all growing things to stretch toward the sun.

Blessed are you, summer,
you call us into playfulness,
encouraging us to pause from work.
You renew our spirits.

Blessed are you, gracious season of summer,
you surprise us with a variety of gifts from the earth.
We, too, gaze into the earth ourselves,
beholding gifts waiting to be honored.

Blessed are you, nurturing season of summer,
your fruits and vegetables appear on our tables,
changing them into altars.
Tasting of your life, we are made strong.

Blessed are you, summer,
host of a star that shines with passion.
Sun-soaked, we reach for your energy
that drives us upward and onward.

Blessed are you, sacrament of summer,
nature’s green season, sweet echo of spring.
You speak to us in living color as you renew the earth
with symbols of life for our bodies and souls.

Blessed are you, summer,
season of roots that reach for water.
Even through the cracks in the sidewalk
the song of your seed can be heard.

Blessed are you, summer,
season rooted in reality.
Even as the perspiration collects on our brow,
we experience your earthy joy.

Blessed are you, summer,
with your firefly evenings
you minister to the child in us.
You feed our hunger for beauty.

– Joyce Rupp
Excerpted from The Circle of Life:
The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons

Related Off-site Links:
Summer Solstice 2023 Marks Longest Day in the Northern Hemisphere as Earth’s Seasons Change – Daisy Dobrijevic (Space, June 21, 2023).
“Excessive” Weather Events Mark Summer Solstice in the U.S. – Madison Roberts (NPR News, June 21, 2023).
Nine Ways People Celebrate the Summer Solstice Around the World – Kristen Pope (Smithsonian Magazine, June 20, 2023). Ten Temples, Tombs and Monuments That Align With the Summer Solstice – Jamie Carter (Live Science, June 20, 2023). Thousands Gather at Stonehenge for Annual Ritual Marking the Summer Solstice – Pan Pylas (AP News, June 20, 2023).

See also the previous posts:
• Welcoming the Summer Solstice
• Hare in Summer Field
• Summer Hare (2017)
• Summer Hare (2021)
• Summer Boy
• Boys of Summer (2021)
• Boys of Summer (2022)

Image: Photographer unknown.

Headwear

Hats | Caps | Helmets | Headdresses

See also the previous posts:
• Headwear – January 30, 2023
• Headwear – April 30, 2022
• Headwear – February 21, 2021
• Headwear – September 8, 2020
• Mon Bel Ami – January 22, 2015
• Bel Homme – May 20, 2012

Images: Subjects and photographers unknown.

Among Spring Blooms

See also the previous posts:
• Among Spring Blooms (2017)
• The Return
• Hare and Meadow Flowers
• Crown of Blooms
• Enchanted Night
• Among Flowers
• Hare and Hedgerow
• The Art of Travis Chantar

Image: Artist unknown.