No matter how frenzied and mad the human world is, I constantly seek the peace of nature. I am never disappointed.
This is where Samwise and Emily are at their best as guides. They pull me away from my civilized self and remind me to sniff, to touch, to feel, to listen, to hear, and to taste. They lead by example as I raise my eyes to watch the murder of crows in our backyard. Now they are bickering, now they are gossiping—now they are laughing about how small we look from the treetops.
Weeks of high heat have finally subsided, taken away by the tides of fairer weather. It’s easier to breathe and we now sleep with the windows open again. The breeze and the cool night air and the fresh scent of the milkweed blossoms conspire to seduce me in my sleep. Almost every night for the last week, in the damp earthen air, Samwise silently wakes me to tell me the bear is in the yard.
Sam sits on the bed, looking out at the sauntering shadowy mass. I fumble for my glasses, and the three of us sit on …
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