The New Less Is More

This is my spa. Someone yelled @ me as I left work and said it's 89 degrees out there, I said I'm laying in the sun then!! So I decided to do just that, I have a nice lawn it's a shame to always be working in it, I need to enjoy it. An old chaise lounge lawn chair, a glass of wine (I don't drink enough to be considered a drinker, just seemed to be appropriate, it even had a cork!) suntan lotion, my phone, a towel to wipe the suntan lotion off of everything and flip flops, (we don't call them thongs anymore, no no no!). I called everyone I could think of, drank wine, suntanned flipped over. Then I napped a bit, bichon crawled on top of me and the other dogs (I'm watching the bulldog Opal for my daughter while she's on a trip) couldn't be left out, I finally convinced them the shade was better for them, napped some more and watched the things you aren't supposed to have floating around behind your eyelids when you close your eyes. I listened to the birds call and watched the cumulus clouds build and dissipate. Flipped over again, listened to the kittens in the bushes, called another person. Wondered if the Mockingbird that wakes me up @ 3 am (I just know it's him, not that many different birds take turns calling @ 3 am) was within shooting range.

Then I noticed how many bees were flying around, nope they were flies, but they weren't bothering me? I thought maybe I should move the cat food from by the back door. Then I looked over, saw the bird feathers scattered about, kitty has been being kitty again, then I saw a snake wrapped around a folded up lawn chair by the cat food, it was dead. It was more than dead, it looked like it died in the throes of agony. The only thing I could figure is the cats tortured it to death and it was striking @ them (garter snake, harmless) and it had a heat stroke in the sun because they had it cornered. So I got rid of it in the gravel road and the flies left and the dog crawled up on top of me again, the cats got under the chaise lounge and we just had a grand old time. There was another glass of wine in there too I believe?

Part of this was brought about by listening to a broadcast on PBS about a lady who had been watching prairie dogs and thought she would go mad the first three days. The fourth day she couldn't write down what the prairie dogs were doing fast enough, because she had learned how to slow down and really observe them and be in the place. The more we know about a place and observe what is going on the more we are really in tune with the place and learn about it. So I was one with my lawn, and my glass of wine, and my bichon, and my borrowed English Bulldog, and the birds, and my lab, and my phone and sun tan lotion too I suppose. Of course the terrier, lab, schnauzer,and cats figured in too. For those who are interested a guy has spent his life studying prairie dog language and they have "words" for man with red shirt, man with blue shirt, man with gun, man without gun, lady with yellow shirt, and so on; it's totally amazing to me. And when left undisturbed the prairie dogs get up out of their little burrows in the morning and face the rising sun with their little paws folded across their chests for half an hour like a religious meditation. Then in the evening they do the same thing toward the setting sun before heading to their burrows. I found it fascinating and that was before any wine!

It was a simple couple hours but thoroughly different and refreshing. I'm sure most of us have learned to make more out of less even if we don't have to. I think we should celebrate it instead of bemoaning the new way of life. Of course I would like a wooden chaise lounge with cushions but then I would have to be more careful with it, this old $9 one from the discount store does just fine as long as it still supports me. I can't stand expensive wine, there's no way to get a sun tan and be cool except a tanning booth I suppose but I've never been in one. Aren't we all supposed to have a lack of vitamin D? I have my supply for a couple days. The bird song and the clouds moving will be in my head for a long time as will the prairie dog stories and the sounds of dogs snuffling (the bulldog) by my ear. Just a generally satisfying spring afternoon.