La Citadelle at night
As the sun drops below the horizon, the countryside changes. Both the farm house and the Owl Barn face west, down the gentle slope to the woods and over the treetops. As the darkness deepens the the night comes alive with sounds.
As the season changes so too do the sounds. In May the quiet song of the nightingales fills the night from dusk to dawn. As the nights become hotter the frogs in the pond and around the lake start their chorus and the crickets chirp louder.
Some sounds are constant ... the hoot of the hunting owl, occasional grunting of the wild boar rooting in the dark for food, the sharp cry of a predator.
With so much water, you might expect mosquitoes, but the fish in both the lake and the pond must eat them, because they have never seemed a bother. There can be no more relaxing an end to a warm day in the Dordogne than sitting in front of La Citadelle, sipping wine, and enjoying the music of the night.