Sit Spot Challenge - Day One

To begin:
I sit on my front deck, facing east, looking out into the woods. It is 7 p.m. and after dark on this February evening.

I can feel the temperature drop, minute by minute, as darkness deepens into night. Nature's sounds, the daylight sounds, have quieted. The birds are silent. The trees are silent. I still hear sounds but they are man's sounds. In the distance I hear people shouting over on the ski slopes, a train rumbling by miles away, a plane overhead. I am surprised at how much I hear out here that I can't hear when I'm inside the cabin.

The sky is clearing after a day of clouds. Baby Dog is with me, a mistake, I think. She is antsy, sticking her nose into everything and nothing, a bit of a distraction as I sit and do nothing.

I try to observe my surroundings, unused to sitting outside after dark with little to look at compared with the activity of day. After 5 minutes I am as antsy as Baby Dog and search for something to focus on, something to *do.* I persist and sit some more. After 15 minutes I begin to relax and the need to do something begins, just a little, to drop away.

The chill begins to reach under my coat, and after 20 minutes I am glad to return to the warmth of the cabin. I am more relaxed and quiet when I go inside. I think I will find sitting still for 20 minutes every day to be a challenge, but it's one that I can see value to. But next time, Baby Dog stays inside.