Our friends told us that there were barn owls nesting in the barn near Widdop so we went up there when the sky was clear and the moon was almost full.
We took the path around the reservoir to those gnarly trees that have seen so much wind that they look like bonsai. We saw so many bounding bunnies, startled by our moonlight wanderings. There was a peacock calling from one of the farmsteads, just to add to the atmosphere.
We watched and waited for owls but we didn't see their comings or goings. It was beautiful enough to watch the fading sunlight.
After some time we walked back, not wanting to leave it until it was too dark to see (so many rabbit holes to look out for). From the other side of the water we heard a 'cuckoo'. It was exactly nine o'clock. The classic time keeper! It cuckoo'd to us all the way back along the path.
This feather glistened it's iridescent blue/green under this moonlit sky. Thank you Mallard for a memento of this beautiful night.
