It’s 15 degrees out at 7:56 A.M. and frost glints off the surfaces of my silver-plated backyard. I am sitting outside on my deck wearing two down jackets, down pants, down booties, and a thick hat as the winter sun wakes up in the eastern sky. It’s an ordinary weekday, and my laptop sits in front of me as I tap away at emails. I have a desk indoors, but today I am choosing not to use it.
Even though I’m not perfectly warm, it lifts my mood to be outside. I can hear the community of songbirds holding their morning conferences, a barking dog, a chuckling hen, and a distant train whistle. Geese flap overhead on their morning commute. In Durango, Colorado, where I live, urbanity and the natural world mix.
On one hand, it feels a little crazy to be out here, tippity-tapping away on my laptop, sipping tea, sticking my hands in my pockets, listening, watching the morning shadows shorten. But on the other hand, nothing feels more natural than being under the actual sky, not a ceiling, and feeling actual fresh air, not the stuffy indoor canned variety.
My perhaps unusual habits were part of an experiment….
