As the last group of geese fly off to
warmer climates and the remaining animals prepare for the long Winter
nights ahead, I fondly say goodbye to nature's obnoxious display of
Spring and Summer and welcome back with loving arms the silent nights
of Winter. Daylight has slowly been subtracted from our far too long
Summer days when nightfall is just a blink from another exhausting
day. For this new farmer, Spring and Summer is both exhilarating and
terrifying at the same time and adrenalin is my only energy source.
At the beginning of Summer my mornings start when the sun first
lights the night's sky around 4:30am and the work day ends only when
the darkness returns around 9:45pm. During these days all of the
creatures including myself seem to be OK with not getting enough
sleep. The sun becomes our dictator and the moon is only visible to
careless lovers. But as November is moving on and
December is in the wings, I now can embrace those wonderful silent
nights.
As the clocks go back one hour and the
sun disappears before dinner time, I am finally able to be fully
awake for the beauty of silence. In Fall and Winter all of the
animals try to hold on to daylight as long as they can but nighttime
always wins. The silence begins as the last group of ducks make their
way into their duck house slowly replacing their screams of complaint
with quiet reluctance. Then I take just a few moments to stand in the
farm yard with the dogs and enjoy the long awaited silence of Winter.
It is here in the silence that I am able to once again connect with
the wind in my face, the cold air in my lungs and the overwhelming
feeling of being alive in this moment. For the first time I am able
to be an empty vessel if only for a brief moment. In those cherished
minutes there are no thoughts of what was or what is to become, only
enjoying each breath as if it were my first and only breath.
As the reality of being on the farm
slowly creep back into my awareness I keep promising that I will take
this moment with me and hold it. But somehow every night I return to
this same spot and realize I once again need to become an empty
vessel. I will breath in every silent night of winter until those
obnoxious sisters Spring and Summer steal them away from me again. But for now the nights belong to me and I will cherish each as if it were my last. Oh Silent night, you are always welcome here.
