Feb. 4, 2022: Of Outhouses and Stars

I realized something recently. You know that feeling of mild dread when you wake up at 3am with a full bladder? You just KNOW you’re going to have to get up and shuffle over to the bathroom. But it’s warm and cozy in bed, so you don’t want to, so maybe you try to ignore it. But eventually, you simply have to get up.

Well, here’s what I realized: that sense of dread is no different whether your toilet is 6 feet away from your bed or 30 feet across your yard. However, how many times do you return from your bathroom to your bed smiling?

I’ve found that every time I crawl back into bed from going to the outhouse at 3am, I am smiling. Why? Because of the stars. This fall/winter has been exceptionally great for stargazing. All fall, Venus, off to the west, lined up with Saturn and Jupiter toward the east, waiting their turn to dance with the moon as it waxes and wanes. Mars wandered around the periphery. I’d leave the outhouse, then spend a minute or two staring up. Orion, setting off to the northwest, Cassiopeia, hanging overhead, the Pleiades trying to hide above the north ridge. We have zero light pollution here, so they sparkle and glitter like diamonds in the cold air. What’s not to enjoy? Throw in some coyotes, and maybe the hush/swoosh footsteps of elk moving through the arroyo for full-on laughter from me.

Then, I feel the cold air – it is very cold here compared to Bayfield – and realize I need to get my body back to bed, where it’s warm and cozy, just like I know it will be.

On cloudy nights, I watch the movement of clouds and the moon against the cliff face. Maybe not as dramatic, but still worth checking out. In snow, I watch how my flashlight plays with the flakes as they fall. Either way, clear or cloudy, the night sky offers something never seen during the day, and that alone makes it worth the effort.

That’s not to say I won’t be happy when Alan gets the Envirolet composting toilet working. (He’s picking up the rest of the solar parts that will run it tomorrow. We have a lovely small bathroom, and having a working toilet will give us comfort when we’re not feeling great or sleet is pelting down. But I bet I’ll still use the outhouse on those starry, starry nights.