Day 24, Monday, March 24

back home tonight. brief night sit before the little one discovered i was missing.

my head was buzzing tonight with flying lists of concerns, responsibilities, worries. being out in the dark slowed it down somewhat, but i realized that from that space in my head, the night and the forest looked blank, empty, useless, completely foreign. it was not a perspective i've had on nature before - or at least i've not noticed myself having it before. it seemed that all of that thinking going on inside of me shut down my ability to relate to the rest of the universe. it felt so different from how i normally feel, like all of my friends became quite suddenly faceless and unknown to me. i wonder if that is what it's like for people who've not felt the natural world speaking to them yet, who haven't felt a pull to be out of doors. if to them, it is just space that is unused, just a blank part of the world.

saw our first turkey vultures of the year last thursday, and my hawk i've been glimpsing off the side of the road for the past two years finally showed itself up close to me last week - helping me to finally identify it by spreading its gorgeous red tail as it landed!