Dark Days

The Dark Days are here. These are the days that begin and end with the moon high in the sky. These are the days that my Huz may not see daylight for days on end (the curse of the windowless office). I am the last to rise on weekdays. Huz is a 5:30 riser, the girls are gone by 6:35 and Hamilton gets up at 7. I listen to all these comings and goings, my head stubbornly staying on the pillow, or under the pillow depending on how many lights and how much noise. Middlest child heads up to the barn first thing, about 5:45, and does the first round of barn chores in the moonlight. I head out when the sun is breaking over the east field....the time will vary as will the sun. The cats line up near the fence, my welcoming committee, their heavy coats and strong bodies belie their chorus "I'M STARVING!" The ducks and gander wait on the other side of the barn door to burst through as it's opened, the cats looking to avoid notice by the gander, and charging in to turn the more bashful ducks in the dooryard. The sheep are mostly quiet, well, more than usual, as they have finished their morning hay, and lie docile, working their cud. The lambs have to tell me about it, but are not ready to go out yet. And Oslo, big black head hanging over the stall wall, waiting to see me first- then a long and enthused wicker. Peaches just bobs her head up and down at me "Shoo" she seems to be saying. "Go get something tasty from the feed bins- and make it quick!" Their coats are getting thick and fuzzy, the black parts on Peach, and Oslo's whole body has a blackness that defies depth. Can you sink your fingers all the way in to that blackness? The whiskers on the chin are getting long, and the hair on their ears, even Oslo, monster horse starts looking like an overgrown pony. Steam pours out of their nostrils and hangs in the sunlit shafts of the barn wall slats. The Dark Days are here- the Cold Ones shall follow.