Here I stand between Samhain and Alban Arthan. The dark time, the time of the great Cailleach! Once I met Nicniven. She was making a literal snow tornado, circling a wand around and around, maniacally laughing. She scared me very much and I was not sure that I was leaving that place. But here I am, all good fun (gulp).
When I move around it's a little startling how different the yard is now. Everything looks like skeletons and they rattle in the wind. It is very quiet but I know why. The sharp shinned hawk has decided that my noisy flocks of sparrows and the doves make a wonderful place out of my yard. A place to get a meal. We humans think we know monsters but the sharpy is a terrifying predator. If you are a sparrow the sharpy is an apex preditor. She/he can outfly you easily so you don't dare fly up. You try tucking deep into the branches of the evergreen but the sharp shinned hawk can easily go in with you. "Eeny meeny miney moe which sparrow will go, down in my tummy, yummy yummy." I have seen sparrows dig down and hide under the leaves. I've watched robin stretch straight up, beak to the sky, perfectly still mimicking a stick. No, we don't know what a real monster looks like. And yet the sharpy still misses, and goes hungry more often than not.
I'm enjoying this dark time. Slowing down, studying, giving blessings to warm fire while relaxing in the tipi. If you can I strongly recommend doing your sit during this time. You get a completely different feeling from nature. The roar of the green is gone, now is the time to try and hear the world spinning. It is quiet enough to really listen deeply, listen to the rustle of the roots down below.
I truly hope you enjoy this season of "rest".