Sounds in the dark

One of the things I love about getting up early and heading out on my bike of a morning is the sounds I hear. The change in the clocks meant it was dark again when I set off this morning but the air was alive with bird song. There is something about hearing sounds in darkness. They seem so much clearer and more vibrant, don’t they? All along the river anonymous creatures scurried and scampered amongst the vegetation, birds sang, and the tails of baby rabbits bobbed. A sliver of pink moon hovered low in the sky. Then, all of a sudden, there was a loud growly snorting, and out of the undergrowth burst a badger, his white stripes bright in my bike light. Caught in the wonder of it, it was all I could do to hang on to my handlebars, swerve and avoid him. Over my shoulder I could see him glaring at me down the path, just like Badger from Wind in the Willows. And just like Badger, I could imagine him shaking his walking stick and shouting, “Blasted humans!”

Here is a photo of a misty Dartmoor on Mother’s Day.