In the Darkening of the Year

So i'm sitting here in my living room, in front of the toasty woodstove, listening to a pair of owls call to each other outside my window. They're not far away, maybe 100 yards or so, but I can't see them because it's dark outside, and they are, after all, owls. I believe that these are a pair of Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus), but it's early in the year for them to be courting. Typical courtship behavior starts in January, and we haven't had much winter to speak of yet. Still, it's incredible to sit here in my living room and hear these owls as they go about their business. I've always had a deep connection with owls, so it makes me somehow content to hear them as they call to each other in the growing darkness.

I finished with my semester today. I'm glad of that. This semester was my hardest yet, and i got very discouraged... I desperately need the break.