Like this:

Short Days:

These days are short.  It’s dark when I walk out to the office to start the day.  It’s twilight when the day is done.  The sun arcs low across the sky and sinks behind Elk Ridge just to the west of us at 3:15pm.  Down in town they get an extra thirty minutes of daylight since they’re further from the height of the mountains, but even still it’s the season of short light.  Or is it?

In the house on days when the sun is shining from a brilliant blue sky, the low angle means that we have luxuriously long rays of sunlight across the floor.  This time of year they stretch halfway through the house bouncing sunlight against the walls and up to the ceilings.  For an hour at noon the whole house lights up with a beautiful honey colored glow.   So, is it a season of ‘short and dark’ or ‘long and light’?  Neither.  Both.  Caught at the moment I talk to myself about it, it becomes whatever I say…

Winter Light Rays

 

Christmas:

We had a nice time during a long Christmas break.  Denine and I gifted each other and Molly, laughing at all the fun.  We cried when we buried one of the black cats but then I enjoyed time with the other two cats lounging on my chest as I lay on the couch reading a couple of good books.   A nice break, another week-long slice of life. 

 

Creatures:

The foxes continue to work out at the den – things appear to be proceeding normally out there.  Still haven’t had any daylight sightings of the foxes which is unusual.  I think it’s because we’re dealing with new, cautious adults.  We also have lots of raptors hanging out in the woods.  These birds are very wary.  They’ll drop out of trees that are a hundred yards away when I walk out of the office or house.  Seems a bit overly cautious to me, but they do what they have to do.  This one decided differently:  Just behind the barn, he (she?) just sat and watched until I got tired of taking pictures and walked away:

Northern Harrier

Finally:

Last night as I was leaving the wood shop to return to the house, I sat in the chair just outside the door to let my eyes adjust to the evening light.  The moon was bright, the sky clear and it was warm enough to just sit and enjoy the stillness of the woods.  A barn owl was screeching in the trees somewhere close.  I heard a noise in a tree above me and while I craned my head upwards to peer into the dark above, it became clear an owl had just landed in the branches above.  While I watched, it hopped down the limbs until it was just about 20 feet above me.  We shared the space for about fifteen minutes before he flew off towards the house, around the driveway and off into the evening.  A pale while barn owl, silent and unperturbed by my presence.  I appreciated its nonchalance:  An honor, Mr. Owl…

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