At day-close in November

Letting darkness fall around me in the quiet heart of an English wood

The light is dying fast. I put on a warm coat, slip a torch into my pocket, hook a little folding stool over the crook of my left arm. I close and lock the front door quietly and head out of the village, towards the darkening fields. As I pass the last of the cottages a single dog bark lofts from an invisible back garden: a warning, or perhaps an entreaty. Take me with you, whoever you are.

This week I have been night-walking: a product, in part, of being too busy to leave my desk during the working day. Come with me, in the second part of the newsletter, as I disappear into the dark.

I also dug out and re-read Thomas Hardy’s November poem, which nods so beautifully towards the sense of mortality the end of each year brings:

At Day-Close in November

The ten hours' light is abating,
And a late bird wings across,
Where the pines, like waltzers waiting,
Give their black heads a toss.

Beech leaves, that yellow the noon-time,
Float past like specks in the eye;
I set every tree in my June time,
And now they obscure the sky.

And the children who ramble through here
Conceive that there never has been
A time when no tall trees grew here,
That none will in time be seen.

It was published in 1914, when Hardy was 74 – but you don’t need to know that to know that it is a late-life poem. I thought I understood the passage of time when I was younger, but of course I had absolutely no idea. It becomes clear – and then, further clarifies – as one passes what one believes to be (but may not prove) the midpoint.

‘At Day-Close in November’ was set to music by Benjamin Britten, and you can hear it here. I don’t love the setting, I have to confess, but you might.

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News

As I know you all know (sorry) HOMECOMING has finally hit the shops, ready for Christmas, and I’m already hearing from readers who are reading it, writing in it, taking it outdoors with them, ticking things off and having a go at learning birdsong, all of which is incredibly heartwarming. I won’t say too much more as I hate feeling like I’m selling things (although I’m constantly being told I don’t do enough of it!) – but here’s a button you can click if you’d like to order a copy:

I was in London a couple of weeks ago to record the audiobook for it, a process I really, really enjoy. Since making the Stubborn Light of Things podcast I’ve come to enjoy audio work and to feel that I’m good at it, too. Perhaps all those school plays where I was always the narrator, never an acting part, are finally paying off! Anyway, the audiobook hasn’t quite dropped yet, but you can pre-order it by clicking here. It’s got birdsong and everything.

Finally on the subject of Homecoming, I was sent a beautiful bunch of flowers by my publisher, including some ornamental purple cabbages which I am looking forward to eating once the rest of it starts to droop. I am very much here for edible bouquets.

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Meanwhile, we’re about to start user-testing the Encounter app, and once that’s done it’ll be released, ready for you all to download for FREE and start using (the proper launch will be in April). Dear god I am so proud of this thing, I can’t even tell you. It has imperfections, yes, and there are things we need to improve when we can afford to, but in terms of sheer potential to reach people across these islands and connect them to nature, it’s going to be absolutely bloody marvellous.

We can send links and nature content out to our users on a geographical basis, so do get in touch and tell us about any local wildlife or conservation initiatives that you think people should know about. Fundraising events? Volunteering opportunities? Citizen science projects? Press this button and let us know:

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When I was in Greece, back in September (feels like years ago!) I re-read one of my most loved contemporary novels, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. My 20-year-old (!) copy ended up dog-eared, salty, sandy and sunfaded, and a couple of pages fell out – so you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear that a handsome new anniversary edition has been published by Bloomsbury, AND A NEW SHORT STORY SET IN THE SAME WORLD, The Wood at Midwinter, which you can find by clicking here.

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In my Times Nature Notebook for November 16th I talk about going to the Isle of Wight to visit my friend Martha and not seeing white-tailed eagles, but getting a lovely view through a restaurant window of this handsome little chap instead:

Did you know that the Isle of Wight is one of only seven UNESCO biosphere reserves in the UK? Very cool.

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What lovely things have you been noticing in the natural world these last few weeks? I’ve been enjoying spiky teasels, traveller’s joy, fabulous fungi and ivy bees. You can catch my Wednesday nature posts over on Instagram.

Finally (sorry sorry): what with Christmas coming up I will be hung, drawn and quartered by my publisher(s) if I fail to mention that as well as HOMECOMING you might wish to buy my other books too, including ALL AMONG THE BARLEY (a novel set in East Anglia in the 1930s), THE STUBBORN LIGHT OF THINGS (a town & country nature diary consisting of my collected Times columns) and my pair of children’s books, BY ASH, OAK AND THORN and BY ROWAN AND YEW, which were inspired by the classic ‘Little Grey Men’ books written sixty years ago by ‘B.B.’

All my books can be found collected handily together at Bookshop.org, a site which both pays its taxes and supports local booksellers. Though if you can buy from a bricks-and-mortar shop that’s even better. Use them or lose them, it’s that simple.