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This morning I couldn't sleep because of arm pain (body: arms ache. me: you know what would help with that? rest and recuperation. body: can't sleep. arms hurt.) so after three hours reading, I decided to go for a walk. We had a few days of unwelcome sunny weather, but it rained on and off all day, and that sounded much nicer than lying in bed and feeling sorry for myself.
On my walk, I found:
One newt, just inside the gate (I almost stepped on it!), small and brown and frozen still. I politely pretended that I was convinced, and couldn't see it; I walked out the gate and close it behind me, and it immediately crept into the bushes. Newts have a really funny walk (those back legs, bless). I never knew.
About five deer, in two family groups, half hidden behind bushes. The babies look like something out of a storybook illustration, too adorable and fae to be real.
One gray squirrel.
One wild rabbit, eating grass just yards from me, very small and gray (and pixelated and camouflaged).
And, when I reached the end of paved/public roads and was about to turn around, a Little Free Library. Devon didn't even know there was one! It's about three block-equivalents from the house, right at the end of the road, and next to a bench made from a split log. It has a surprisingly good selection, although I didn't pick up anything this time (so many library holds just came in), and most of the books were marked with Little Free Library stickers, which I imagine helps remind people to return or donate. I wonder how much the neighbors use it?
A satisfying way to use an otherwise shitty day. I don't use neighborhood libraries a whole lot, because they tend not to stock books I want to read & because I prefer to read on ebook; but leaving them behind (there were three I used to walk to) was one of the things I most regretted about moving. I love the principle of the thing, of democratizing reading and encouraging reading and cozy neighborhood spaces. And now I know there is one, and nearby. It fills a void—a little void, but still.
On my walk, I found:
One newt, just inside the gate (I almost stepped on it!), small and brown and frozen still. I politely pretended that I was convinced, and couldn't see it; I walked out the gate and close it behind me, and it immediately crept into the bushes. Newts have a really funny walk (those back legs, bless). I never knew.
About five deer, in two family groups, half hidden behind bushes. The babies look like something out of a storybook illustration, too adorable and fae to be real.
One gray squirrel.
One wild rabbit, eating grass just yards from me, very small and gray (and pixelated and camouflaged).
And, when I reached the end of paved/public roads and was about to turn around, a Little Free Library. Devon didn't even know there was one! It's about three block-equivalents from the house, right at the end of the road, and next to a bench made from a split log. It has a surprisingly good selection, although I didn't pick up anything this time (so many library holds just came in), and most of the books were marked with Little Free Library stickers, which I imagine helps remind people to return or donate. I wonder how much the neighbors use it?
A satisfying way to use an otherwise shitty day. I don't use neighborhood libraries a whole lot, because they tend not to stock books I want to read & because I prefer to read on ebook; but leaving them behind (there were three I used to walk to) was one of the things I most regretted about moving. I love the principle of the thing, of democratizing reading and encouraging reading and cozy neighborhood spaces. And now I know there is one, and nearby. It fills a void—a little void, but still.
