The Howl & Moon: The Scythe & Rice

Late Summer/early Autumn is the time to harvest rice. In fact, the day after we arrived, the farmer who owns the rice field in front of our house came with his machine and cut it down. We were ecstatic to have seen the whole shebang, feeling like it was just for our benefit, not knowing that we would see it a hundred times over in the last 6 weeks.

In honor of the artists being here, a rice harvest was organized so that we could see how it's done by hand and to experience the community effort. We turned up to a beautifully terraced area in a valley where people of all ages were hard at work.

It was a hot balmy day so we covered up (I was brought back to my corn detasseling days, oh lord) and brought hats which of course Hopper refused to wear despite its cuteness and sun-shading appeal. The atmosphere was totally jovial and someone even brought some jazz. And shockingly enough, not one of the kids whined or sat down in protest.

We were given small rice scythes and joined in. It's actually quite easy to cut, the reedy stalks being less tough than you would expect. And one little guy was so into it he created his own path and worked like an eager little beaver, sawing like a maniac and creating piles for his comrades to carry over to the group tying them into bundles to be dried in the sun.

True to his recent form, Hopper insisted on being held and watching from a distance for the first 45 minutes, but he delighted in roaming around other cut fields looking for frogs, snakes, crickets and spiders. And when the salamander was found, his little brain went ballistic with avid curiosity and respect. I was so impressed, and have been about countless other living creatures, by his delicate handling of it, admiring it and cooing with giggles. The poor little thing was exhausted after being manipulated by a few children and slowly crawled its bedraggled self back into the nook under the terrace wall.