Scenes from a village 16 - The art of cutting grass (HD)

There are a number of different way by which grass might be cut and one method might be deemed more suitable than another when one takes into account the terrain that needs to be cut. For large fields the tractor is employed and makes light work of it. For a beautiful front garden or badminton court a lawn mower is brought out. And what is becoming increasingly heard is the strimmer that can easily reach those awkward areas in the vineyard or where the ground might not be level. A scythe, while being the most labour intensive method is also the oldest and quietest and one feels a particular connection with the past in using it. Not only that but it has a rhythm entirely in harmony with the environment and the rasp of a whet stone heard in the valley or from a neighbouring field is a sound that can connect you with some latent sense of your own origins.

Cutting grass, in order to do it well, requires a considered balance between precision and rhythm. It takes a great deal of practice to align the body correctly and angle the blade to just skirt the ground and with little effort lay a swaithe of grass in a neat and satisfying row to one side. Here we are taking instruction from our good friend, Damir.... and here is how it should be done. He manages to make the task seem deceptively effortless. And when we watch him from a distance he seems so much a part of the scene he occupies that we can recognise his image as if it were a page from a medieval manuscript.

Summer and Bara returns from her meadow each morning with enough freshly cut grass to feed her one cow for that day. Elsewhere the villagers take to their meadows, and for a few hot days there is a wealth of activity, to cut, turn, dry and collect the hay with the tractor and cart it back each to their own barn. In the surrounding fields we see Tihomir and Biba, in the valley we find Mika and in our meadow Tona and Marica. But for some, the art of cutting grass is nothing they ever need think about.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Scenes from a village
• 16 The art of cutting grass
• gornje bukovlje lukatić
• fudurić
• maričić
• mihalić
• earth works
• croatia
• mreznica

[Roolooth99]

Watching this brought back childhood memories of seeing my Grandfather using a scyth on the meadow at the back of his house. How I enjoyed those summers!

Its nice to see that this old method is still being used.

[andrewnorris2]

@Roolooth99 Thanks for catching up with this one. A scythe is, ironically, the best method in a lot of cases to cut grass. Not only that but it is quiet and one really does feel a greater connection with the land that one is working. We all use mechanical tools for certain tasks but the satisfaction of working by hand is something quiet special. Glad to have brought back such wonderful memories for you.

[pnm1941]

Wonderful fascinations for videos!! Village or not, the work of a true Master!!

[andrewnorris2]

@pnm1941 Kind of you to say so, I appreciate it.

[GilesConradWatson]

How wonderful to see the scythe in action. I love the quietness of it, just as I prefer the snip of hedge clippers to the rasp of the motorised variety. I have only seen a scythe in action once in Britain - in a churchyard which was being managed for wildlife in Durham. Would that more people did this. It's also lovely to see the dog sniffing around whilst the mowing is being done!

[andrewnorris2]

@GilesConradWatson Giles, I don't believe I acknowledged your kind comment here, but I do appreciate it. What a shame you have seen a scythe in action only once. Sounds like those documentaries that give demonstrations of "how things were done by our great grandfathers", when really, the scythe here is an every day too, and long may it continue. And, yes, our beautiful dog, Lucy, she likes to appear in all the films, you know, a small walk on part. Thanks for watching this, best to you

[harryfaber]

Lovely video. This is a skill that very few people have now. 

[itscloudyagain]

intresting

[andrewnorris2]

@wildseed01 Thanks so much for discovering my video. You are right, when I first came to this country so much reminded me of what England used to be like, or how I imagined it to have been. But things are definitely changing here, and if you are able to watch some of the others you will see this. Hopefully, I will record many of the stories before that happens. Film 23, coming later, will show how individual houses kept a cow and milked them for cheese, only 4 left in the village. Thanks again.

[wildseed01]

Wonderfully authentic scenes long gone in UK - nice to see a scythe n the hands of one who knows by tradition how to use it rather than have to rediscover it as we do here. Lovely meadows and tractors too. Scary ending with babe & father on tractor mudguard tho -another traditional scene you wouldnt see in the UK!