Sleeping under the stars Saturday 8/19/2006

I'd never done this before. I have been wanting to do it for a long time. I was about to give up on it, but Friday night I was in the back yard and I didn’t feel like going in as it got dark.

So I pulled out the cheap-o chaise lounge and put one sleeping bag down on it, and a pillow, and slept in the other sleeping bag. It was so gorgeous! The perfect night, if a little cool. No wind, which can be a big issue up here.

It was still and the stars were bright. I slept with my glasses on so I could wake up and see the friendly sky up there keeping me company. Also with cotton in my ears to avoid any bug or cold-air issues. I was very snug in my little nest.

Crickets sang me to sleep from various parts of the back yard. I woke several times during the night (not unusual for me even in my regular bed) and noted that the human sounds had quieted down, that even the crickets were quiet after a while. I woke when the train blew its whistle a few miles away, and was glad that the coyotes didn’t set up their sometimes very enthusiastic and hair-raising responsive yipping. That might have sent me scurrying for the back door (which Hydra left open…just the storm door shut.)

I assume that the constellation spread out up there was Leo, given the time of year. The Milky Way became more prominent later in the evening. I LOVE knowing that I am looking out through the spiral arms of the galaxy when I see it. Time traveling right in my own back yard, with the stars whispering their stories of lightyears in my ears.

When I woke for the last time, the stars were almost gone…just a few faint reminders through the pale atmosphere. I felt absolutely goofily elated.

SO worth it. I expect I’ll do this again.