Guardian

This was one of those ‘last shot of the film’ photographs, taken on a spring morning a couple of weeks ago when the light was very soft. The tree stump in question sits 2/3 of the way down our drive and is like a grand old fellow guarding our entrance. I’m sure one of those chainsaw artists you get at Country Fairs could sculpt something amazing from it but for now it’s staying as it is:

Tree Stump.  Hasselblad/50mm.  FP4+, HC-110 on Ilford MG Classic fibre paper.

Rabbits have burrowed under the roots of the stump and emerge from time to time to hop around the fields, dodging buzzards (sometimes not successfully) and our kitties. Maisie, the tabby, has a habit of bringing little ones into the house. They’re completely unharmed…she just releases them and then loses interest.  Perhaps she thinks they are kittens and she’s being motherly, bringing them home. Quite sweet, really, but they can give you quite the shock when you move a chair and suddenly this wee furry animal scampers away.  We operate a catch-and-release policy…take them back to the tree and let them hop off, sometimes to be re-captured 24 hours later and then we do it all again.