night out

I used to love camping. Once when I was a college student I camped out solo -without a tent - in the Cascade mountains in Oregon, woke up to a view of Mt. Shasta in northern California. It was splendid.

Don and I actually used to camp a fair amount, and when we lived in the city, we thought, hey - maybe we need to live in the country. So we bought the farm (so to speak) in November 2003. It really does feel like a little campground or park.

So, finally, after intending to do this since we moved to the farm in 2003, I slept out a few nights ago, in Lesley's little single person tent.

And this is why I love sleeping outside:

• rustling of poplars, like breathing
• fireflies
• no walls (tent walls don't count) full of plaster, electrical wires, lath between me and Nature
• no clock, TV, refrigerator hum, furniture
• the moon
• cool night air and the damp

I could probably come up with more. My sister Dee Dee says as long as there are 3-star hotels in the world, she doesn't plan on camping. I wonder what you prefer, clean white sheets and room service, or a sleeping bag in the great outdoors?