Hares

Mad as a March Hare

After a Winter of deluge upon deluge, you could forgive the local wildlife for losing the plot a little. Throughout this month, on fields transformed from featureless brown to green, it is possible to catch the European Hare taking part in a mad sort of mating ritual. It is usually the female landing the blows, either to fend off overly amorous males or to test their mettle, before deciding whether to proceed to the next step of courtship.
March Hare
March Hare
March Hare
Whilst animals are abundant in British idioms – we can be early birds, up with the larks, busy as bees – it is the European Hare alone that is associated with madness. "Mad as a March hare" is an expression the British have used for 600 years. It is a reputation which cannot be helped by Haigha, the March Hare most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The March Hare or ‘the stubble-stag’ as referred to by poet Seamus Heaney, is a key inspiration at Susie Watson Designs. Catching sight of these lithe, athletic creatures, with their long, straight ears and strong hind-legs, fills us with a reassuring sense of nature’s rhythms at work. It is celebrated in our Ceramics collections and makes a steady appearance within our cushion ranges. Check out our newest addition below, featuring a pair of Summer Hares alongside another quintessentially British countryside detail: the humble cow parsley.