The Power of the Dark as the clocks go back

[caption id="attachment_1266" align="alignright" width="300"] red kite[/caption] It is that time now: as I write, which normally is as the sun rises, it is night still and will be for some time. I fed the daytime birds, asleep in their roosts, in the dark, listening to the birds of the night hooting as they hunted still and called for a mate to initiate their breeding season. Bats were flying around my head and in the trees, busy in their pursuit of moths and other insects which were prolific in the warm night air. The owls, vocal still, are being joined now by the mew of buzzards and kites starting to stir and look for their breakfast, and I see and hear the creatures of the day sharing the skies with those of the night. It is an extraordinary time as the different rhythms of the cycle of nature join together in a celebration of life. It is rare that, at the end of October in Wales, the long periods of autumn darkness are accompanied by an abundance of warm temperatures bringing a rich harvest of food for the wildlife which simultaneously is preparing for winter hardships and also for the new birth of spring. It is a time of union, co-existence that is peaceful and accepting; it is the balance of nature personified. The night owls have ceased their work and the sun is rising, revealing the beauty of the rich colours of the landscape as it moves gracefully from one season to another, new growth providing a flash of bright green while coppery leaves dazzle. It will change, I know, when the clocks go back but for now I treasure this time  of harmony and the merging of time and night and day and season, reminding me of the power of the dark, and of the light, in the most perfect way.]]>