January 25, 2024
When I woke up, I turned to see my clock. It was 3:37 AM. I debated whether I should wake up, but I didn’t want to bother my wife, so I stayed in bed, thinking about what I had to do for the day. We got out of bed about an hour later.
We had our morning coffee together, which included the customary playing with the dogs while we sipped lattes from the couch. The dogs have adjusted to our early morning schedule and are usually up around four, ready to go outside and chase rabbits before coming back inside for coffee time. The big morning news was that our nearest neighbor was selling their home. I speculated this might happen because a company was recently power-washing the house. Even though we weren’t overly social with the couple and their children, it was always nice knowing the people who live near you. I think we’ll miss them and we’re eager to see who buys the house.
My wife was home all day, a rare treat. She would spend the day studying for a major exam, which marked the end of her sixth of twelve rotations. In a few days, she’ll head out of town for a month to complete a rotation in cardio-thoracic surgery, something I think she will enjoy.
Today, before work, I went out into the forest alone for over an hour. I took an old trail on the west side of the property, one I rarely use. It was nice to walk through an area of the forest that seemed unfamiliar. On the trail I normally take, I can tell if anything has changed from the day before, but this area seemed new and piqued my curiosity. Since it was raining, I left my professional camera gear at home, but I toted around a little Ricoh GR IIIx point and shoot camera. Although this little camera fits in your pocket, it sports an APS-C sensor which produces phenomenal pictures. I bought it last year because it was the smallest camera with the largest sensor available. I took pictures of old fallen trees, covered in mosses and fungi, as I explored the unfamiliar territory.
When I arrived at my favorite sitting place, a boulder the size of an RV, I sat down in the light rain. From there, I looked out over the creek and into the ravine. Sometimes, I see deer in this area, and last year, while in a tree stand about one hundred yards to my west, I saw two beavers gathering branches for a dam. Today, the area was still. I’ve noticed that on rainy days, my dogs instinctively hunker down and sleep most of the day. I wondered if the wildlife did the same or just went about their business as normal. About three months ago, during a heavy downpour, I was in my ground blind and observed a herd of deer standing in an unprotected field, feeding as if nothing special was happening.
While I was there on the rock, I had a lot of different thoughts run through my head. It was Thursday, and I had several online meetings to attend. My wife had an exam tomorrow and would leave this weekend. I was contemplating parts of Emerson’s essay on nonconformity. And, I was brainstorming an article I was outlining about the conflict in nature. The thoughts were coming fast, but the longer I sat in the rain, the calmer I felt, and the calmer I felt, the more my mind slowed. Pretty soon, the thoughts stopped completely, and I felt like I had transformed from an observer of nature to a part of her. I took a deep breath, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my small pocket journal. Inspired, I wrote one sentence. “I spent one hour in the woods, sitting in the rain, thinking about all manner of things, until my mind was empty and pure.”
At dusk, just as my work was about to end, I saw five deer feeding near the barn in the pasture. The deer’s winter coats were thick and gray, and the deer seemed calm. As I peered out of my window to catch a better look through my magnified rangefinder, one doe was looking directly at me, her lower jaw moving side to side as she used her molars to grind down on her food. I waved goodbye and pulled the shades down, finishing up one last email before I shut down my work computer.
I took my wife to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. It was a nice way to separate the workday from the evening, something that is sometimes a challenge for me since I work and play from the same home office. After dinner, we came home, and I worked on outlining an article while my wife took a hot bath. A bittersweet end to the day. Tomorrow was Friday, and a day and a half later, my best friend would be gone.