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  While shepherds watched their flocks by day   

26 December 2015 by Simon Barnes 20 Comments

Yesterday morning I left the house before breakfast to sort out the horses. As I approached the stables I saw that there were shepherds in the field. Abiding. You know how they do. It was of course Jane and her partner, checking the sheep in the field next-door, because sheep, like horses, don’t take days off. We humans exchanged greetings, completed our morning chores and went back to our families.

I was back inside drinking a cup of tea and admiring things that had come out of stockings when the angel of Lord came down. Or a pretty good substitute: perfectly perfect white wings and a flight so buoyant it seemed that the ground repelled him, like the unlike poles of a magnet.  This surely was not a creature of the earth.

It was a barn owl, a creature built for silent nights and especially for silent dawns and silent dusks, and it pursued its business in plain sight for some minutes before drifting off on some errand, having made a present of himself to us. Glory, I happened to notice, shone around.

It was a little later in the day when a Chinese water deer appeared in the garden and he was sore afraid. Or so it seemed: he rushed into sight, performed a 180 and then rushed straight back in the direction he had come from. It was like Harpo Marx.

By the late afternoon my head was full of cold and it felt as heavy as a bowling ball, but I went out to do the mucking-out all the same. I saw another or the same barn owl on one of my passes with laden wheelbarrow; I’ve seen two together in the last fortnight and the signs are good.

I felt pleasingly virtuous as I did the jobs, the hay, the water, the short feed. But to tell the truth, mucking-out is the one chore I’ve never for a second resented, not even on Christmas Day. After all, horsey jobs are all about keeping the horses alive and that has always seemed to me a good thing. Besides, it’s no bad thing to spend time in a stable at Christmas. I believe there’s scriptural precedent.

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Comments

  1. Chris williamson says

    26 December 2015 at 1:19 pm

    I too have seen our local barn owl/owls more in daytime recently as the worst of our Cumbrian weather seems to have been ain the night. Quite worrying really that they may starve just because of the weather and not everything else that conspires against them . Always enjoy your articles,thank you.

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      21 January 2016 at 5:11 pm

      There’s always a touch of anxiety in watching ones local patch. I wish you and the owls best of luck.

      Reply
  2. Jane Pottas says

    26 December 2015 at 4:03 pm

    A sensitive and thoughtful piece. Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Mrs Andy Lloyd Williams says

    26 December 2015 at 5:55 pm

    Belated happy Christmas greetings, together with get well wishes! Loved the blog today.

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      21 January 2016 at 5:11 pm

      Thanks for kind words.

      Reply
  4. Ann Adeney says

    26 December 2015 at 8:29 pm

    Thank you. Perfect end to a lovely Christmas apart from your cold. Hope 2016 is a good one for you and your family

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      21 January 2016 at 5:11 pm

      Thanks for a nice message.

      Reply
  5. Linda Hull says

    27 December 2015 at 9:48 am

    Love it. A very soothing scene in the mayhem of a family Christmas. Many good wishes for the New Year.

    Reply
  6. Anthony Bird says

    28 December 2015 at 1:01 pm

    Wonderful!

    Reply
  7. wes pickering says

    29 December 2015 at 11:48 am

    Thanks Simon, an enjoyable present of words and pictures for Chrissie for us all.
    all the best to you and your family for 2016,

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      21 January 2016 at 5:12 pm

      Thank you very much and the same to you.

      Reply
  8. cloverjoGail Volans says

    29 December 2015 at 1:09 pm

    I’m so glad I’ve found your blog, Mr Hughes. I loved your writing in The Times and was wondering where and why you’d gone. Now I know. Such a shame. Happy new year.

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      21 January 2016 at 5:12 pm

      Good things come from setbacks. Fingers crossed i’ll have some more good news soon.

      Reply
  9. alisonrhodes2013 says

    29 December 2015 at 3:21 pm

    Thank you I enjoy your posts.seasons greetings
    Alison Rhodes

    Reply
  10. Christine Wickham says

    29 December 2015 at 7:34 pm

    Late reading this blog, as I’ve supporting sick elderly relatives over Christmas, so this was a welcome uplifting read on my return to 21st century lifestyle. Cheers, and all the very best to you and the family (humans & animals) for 2016.

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      21 January 2016 at 5:13 pm

      Sounds like a difficult but thoroughly virtuous and worthwhile Christmas. Well done and I wish you a great 2016.

      Reply
  11. Angela Pavitt says

    31 December 2015 at 3:11 pm

    Only just read this beautiful blog. Thank you. Wishing you and yours every blessing in 2016

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      21 January 2016 at 5:17 pm

      Thanks for your kind words and the best of years to you too.

      Reply
  12. Brianne Reeve says

    3 January 2016 at 12:12 pm

    Just joined you all. I loved the delightful teasing in this message. A happy New year with many memorable wildlife sightings.to share!

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      21 January 2016 at 5:20 pm

      Welcome, and thank you for your kind words.

      Reply

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