Jane's story of a wee' sma' hours' encounter with nature

Thanks to Jane for sending us this story of an early morning stroll:

I'm not sure whether we are able to use the phrase "simmer dim" so far south here on Islay (!) but that's certainly what it felt like when I finally managed to make myself get up and go for a short walk, ostensibly to hear the dawn chorus at about 3.30 am last Saturday! Catching a glimpse of a shooting star in a cloudless sky,  I set off for a wander down the road in that slightly eerie but very special light. Several bats were flitting around the trees, the first strains of birdsong were beginning and the cuckoo was already in full flight. Given how constantly we have been hearing it recently I was wondering whether it had actually stopped calling that night at all. As the light increased it was possible to make out the  pale globes of the burnet rose flowering in the hedges but I startled a few roe deer at  the roadside.  Round the corner the Paps were a silvery outline  against the dawn sky as the colours deepened. Various rustlings and squeakings in the ditches accompanied my return journey and the birdsong began to swell, although the cuckoo was still taking the lead.
It was all over within an hour, but a memorable way to start the day!