My favourite contemporary-artist is John Caple. His work invariably depicts lonely moonlit scenes; where a solitary silhouetted figure stares eerily back out of the canvas. His paintings seem to convey an air of strangely stagnant silence, which I find remarkable!

At this time of year, mornings often have that quality. It was still moonlight when I embarked on my walk this morning.

From all directions came the rustling of wings and screeches of surprise, as my footsteps forced birds and animals from out of their cover. Deer & hares fled across the fields, and pheasants clattered noisily into the air, squawking in protest at my untimely intrusion. I even had to rescue a little woodcock from a wire-net fence, where it had become entangled in its rush to escape my lumbering footsteps.

There’s a scene in the animated story ‘The Snowman’, where the little-boy and his magical friend ride a motorcycle through the moonlit woods. The headlamp falls on startled & terrified animals, which clamber desperately out of the duo’s hurtling path. That is how it felt this morning. How has man become such an intruder in his own natural environment?

Either way, the dawn is decorative in its beauty. Get out and see it.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the day,

Adam.