Sunday, October 13th, 2019.

4:30 PM.

I set out on my walk at 3:30 PM and arrive at my sit spot at 4:30 PM. It is a slightly chilly day, a perfect day for a walk in the woods. Once I arrive at my sit spot, I settle upon my jacket spread on the ground and tune in. First, I empty my mind of all thoughts; then, slowly begin noticing my surroundings. I see pale orange rocks on the ground, clumps of grass both living and dead. A roly-poly crawling on those rocks. Leafy vines, partially dead. Dead twigs coming out of the ground. Sunlight hitting these objects to varing degrees (notice how some of these objects are impervious to light , like rocks and tree trunks, while others are thin enough for light to shine through, like leaves). Many, many, many leaves– mostly green, some red or yellow. I see distance between here and there. I see my legs on the ground. A very blue sky with pure white clouds moving quickly over me. A tiny pine sapling at my feet, the power lines, and dead leaves accumulating on the path. 

Then I begin to notice what I can hear. I hear the buzzing of the powerlines. For some reason it reminds me of a fireplace. I hear a bird chirping! Very short, snappy, abbreviated chirps. I hear the automobiles driving down 81. They kind of sound like ghost cars, but in a soothing way. I hear the rustling of fallen leaves in the wind. I hear the low sound of an airplane flying overhead. I hear some insects buzzing as well.

I check on my dead tree in the distance: it is still large and dead, but retains its seemingly dead, sparse leaves. The tropical looking tree that used to have a few red leaves now has less green leaves and more red leaves. The ground has not changed much at all– still pale orange, pebbly, and dry– although, there are a few more dead leaves on the ground. 

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I decided to take pictures of the trail that leads to my sit spot this time. As you can see, it is a very beautiful trail.

What about water? I do not see any. But I know it is here, hidden inside of other things: in the leaves, stems, roots of plants; in the bodies of all of the animals; in the atmosphere; in the ground. The closest body of water is probably Carvin’s Cove across the ridge. However, I think that this area gets most of its water through rainfall.

Now tasked with finding an invertebrate, I poke around the leaves and rocks on the ground. I find a very small roly-poly crawling in the rocks and leaves! I watched its every move for 5 minutes. This is not the first time that I have done this. Here’s what it did: walked in a straight line westward for about 1 minute, crawling above and under rocks. Stopped, then turned to the south and walked in a straight line, went under a rock, stayed there, I poked his rock, he ran underneath of a nearby leaf and remained there undisturbed. 

Reflecting on my experience sit-spotting, I feel very relaxed and at home in my sit spot. Sitting quietly and observing nature is not foreign to me. I enjoy it. I really like the walk to get to my sit spot. I only wish I could levitate and view it from above. I also like the idea of forming a relationship with a spot, visiting it regularly and observing what has changed externally and internally each time. 

I leave at 6:15 PM.