Sleeping under the stars

For the past two nights I've slept outside, under the stars and among the howling coyotes. And all because I assembled a hammock that I bought for $14 three years ago. The factory-fresh hammock was still wrapped in its cardboard box. Made in China. There were spider webs around the box after three years of leaning against the patio wall these last three years.

I always thought hammocks were a great addition to a quiet garden, swaying gently in the shade of a palo verde or a honey mesquite. When I bought the hammock during an end-of-season garden sale in town, I bit.

The nighttime temperatures this last week has been over 70F, perfect outdoor sleeping weather, and certainly cooler than the hot house.

I told Kevin I was going to sleep outside, in my new hammock, under the stars. I couldn't wait.

When darkness fell and I started feeling tired, I went outside and lay in the hammock. I had a direct view of the near full moon rising in the southeast, with perhaps Juniper nearby, a flaming bright red ball.

It was heavenly, wrapped in the hammock like a coccoon. The dogs were only a few feet from me, both with their eyes on me. They were perhaps wondering why I wasn't inside with the cats.

But when the enthusiasm waned and I needed to roll over--my neck was feeling sore--I couldn't. I had to pull myself up and around to change position, and even after a few minutes that new position had gotten old. Once again I had to get up, pull myself up and around...

After almost an hour of restless motion, I was exhausted and got up and out from that hammock. I went to the garage to dig out my cot, grabbed a pillow and a camping blanket, and slept much better afterwards. The full moon and Juniper had moved across the southern sky but both were still in the sky when I got up at 4am to go inside: Sara had just licked the inside of my mouth, my hands and feet were cold, and I was ready to spend the rest of the time inside.

The next night I repeated my outside adventure, this time with my warm sleeping bag, two pillows and my laptop. I trashed the hammock and got out my cot again.

It was heavenly sleeping out in the yard. The dogs responded to neighborhood dog howls, I could hear the noise of the nearby highway, and at 11:15pm I thought I heard a distant gunshot. The mountain winds blew gently across the yard like a fan. Yes, this was better than the heat of the house.

A few times the dogs growled, raced to the front yard fence and barked, but no other noises came from the front yard. Perhaps a stray cat had sauntered nearby, or someone was out for a late-night walk under the full moon.

Again the full moon was out, again Juniper was nearby, and this time I was comfortable and snuggled in such a way that Sara couldn't lick my mouth this morning. I slept so well I didn't get up until 6:15am and Kevin had just left for work. By then the sun was out brightly, and I'm surprised I slept so soundly in the warmth.