Country diary: The field is alive with hares, and it's breathtaking

Garndolbenmaen, Gwynedd: In the low light, two race past me so close I can feel the thump of their mighty hind legsAt the time of the worm moon, when earthworms rise through topsoil, leaving casts as evidence, I remembered a field that Owen John Owen - shepherd, neighbour and frequent outdoor companion during the years I lived in Cwm Pennant - once showed me, years ago, under this same last full moon of winter. I thought to revisit, as I have done on many subsequent occasions, and re-experience its magic.We'd come out of the Cross Foxes in Garn - the local farmers' pub - after one of the lock-ins that were frequent in those days. As dawn approached, the moon rose, silvering the craggy profiles of the hills. "I want to show you something!" Owen John said. We drove to where field walls descended and fanned out towards in-bye land of Nantcyll. Views widened. We glimpsed both coasts of the Llyn peninsula. We took a path that rose gently towards Mynydd Graig Goch, slipped through a gate and sat in a moon-shadowed corner of the mountain wall, the slope beneath illuminated. Continue reading...