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My husband and I have taken to walking at 5am, a safe time to exercise as we come across only one or two other people, occasionally.
These pre dawn hours of darkness hold many surprises; silence abruptly checked by a spontaneous yet orchestrated burst of frog song, the sudden sharp call of a hunting eagle or the strong flap of large wings as a bat startles from a tree directly overhead. A kookaburra, the bushman’s alarm clock, stridently asserts its right to call up the dawn. It is answered, distantly, and an absence of sound settles back in.
Then there is the movement in the silence. A fox under a streetlight foraging beside the path, questing one way, then another, melting finally into long grasses, disappearing. A white rabbit also used the cover of darkness to escape its normal confines, an opportunity to explore. Silhouetted against the black road it sniffed the tyres of a parked car, investigated the length of the gutter and nibbled at a green lawn. With its soft tail bobbing behind the rabbit quietly hopped out of sight.
Not all of the wonders on our walks are to be found at eye level. The darkness offers up other rare opportunities. As restrictions began to ease we became excited at spotting one or two planes again, their lights flashing rhythmically. We have seen a shooting star. The moon in all its phases rises and sets before our eyes; golden, cream coloured, a glowing white.
The International Space Station has passed overhead and, on two occasions a long line of thirteen satellites, spaced equidistantly and travelling quickly has added to our sense of wonder. Exciting, joyful, special moments.
Moments that mark the beginnings to our day.
These pre dawn hours of darkness hold many surprises; silence abruptly checked by a spontaneous yet orchestrated burst of frog song, the sudden sharp call of a hunting eagle or the strong flap of large wings as a bat startles from a tree directly overhead. A kookaburra, the bushman’s alarm clock, stridently asserts its right to call up the dawn. It is answered, distantly, and an absence of sound settles back in.
Then there is the movement in the silence. A fox under a streetlight foraging beside the path, questing one way, then another, melting finally into long grasses, disappearing. A white rabbit also used the cover of darkness to escape its normal confines, an opportunity to explore. Silhouetted against the black road it sniffed the tyres of a parked car, investigated the length of the gutter and nibbled at a green lawn. With its soft tail bobbing behind the rabbit quietly hopped out of sight.
Not all of the wonders on our walks are to be found at eye level. The darkness offers up other rare opportunities. As restrictions began to ease we became excited at spotting one or two planes again, their lights flashing rhythmically. We have seen a shooting star. The moon in all its phases rises and sets before our eyes; golden, cream coloured, a glowing white.
The International Space Station has passed overhead and, on two occasions a long line of thirteen satellites, spaced equidistantly and travelling quickly has added to our sense of wonder. Exciting, joyful, special moments.
Moments that mark the beginnings to our day.