WHEN the black velvet curtain drops, the farmyard, the meadow, the hill, the river remain the same theatrical stage. But the cast changes at night. Where swallows lacily wheeled around the cowfield in the sunshine comes the nightjar, hawking by hard angles in moonlight. Where butterflies fluttered in the afternoon garden, at midnight the pale ghosts of moths flicker on the honey-suckled arbour. In place of bees on the lane's verge, glow-worms. Instead of the thrush chanting in the orchard, the nightingale serenading. At night, the desolate fen is no longer the hunting ground of the marsh harrier, but of the short-eared owl.
Almost 70% of the world's animals are nocturnal for good reasons. Animals that feed by night exploit sources of food that are also taken by day animals, but without coming into direct competition with them. Also, daylight desiccates and is thus anathema to moist-skinned molluscs and amphibians. Above all, at night, it is easier to evade detection by predators. Darkness is concealment, refuge, sanctuary. It is at night that great mass migrations of British Nature occur, the sweet coming of swallows, the dispersal of moles through the clover-perfumed grass, the eel migrations down the black, slithery river.
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue) sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue) sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery