The box in the churchyard hornbeams has unfortunately been colonised by squirrels – they have filled it up with leaves to sleep away the cold weather in. Meanwhile tawny owls are calling, and we hope that a pair may nest in John and Sue Willows’ owl box erected on one of their trees earlier in the year. Now that I have taken to keeping my binocs in the car I may be better able to tell you what those brown things are before next month: if YOU know, let me know! In these times of diminished wildlife generally, it is heartening to see a flock of anything. The arable lands around Eggardon are the place to see the winter flocks of fieldfares and redwings – sometimes lapwings and small brown things, including meadow pipits. If it’s too cold they tend to just drop down into the reeds without doing their aerial manoevres. ![]() Finally the beech at Meech’s Corner is distributing its copper coinage lavishly all over the ground with the first frosts – hasn’t it been beautiful though, with the westering sun tuning its leaves to brilliant orange and gold in the evenings? Starlings are now congregating in murmurations – you can see them down at Cogden, in the reed beds west of West Bexington mild, clearing weather after rain is the best sort of time to see them. Lucy’s Day: ‘Tis the year’s midnight, and it is the day’s, Lucy’s, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks The sun is spent, and now his flasks Send forth light squibs, no constant rays The world’s whole sap is sunk The general balm th’ hydroptic earth hath drunk, Whither, as to the bed’s feet, life is shrunk, Dead and interr’d… …Since she enjoys her long night’s festival, Let me prepare towards her, and let me call This hour her vigil, and her eve, since this Both the year’s, and the day’s deep midnight is.’ NOVEMBER update. However I am going to leave the expression of the deepness and darkness of midwinter to the poet John Donne, with this excerpt from his poem A Nocturnal upon St. ![]() December, the Winter Solstice. The shortest day of the year is here, the tawny owls already hooting in the darkness at 4.30pm, while the owl on the roof of our village hall stonily surveys our gorgeously scintillating village Christmas tree from above.
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