Sleeping and Waking

This week I decided to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time.  The moon would soon be full and the nights had been bright and clear.  As I brushed my teeth and pulled on my flannel pajama pants I thought about it again.  It was already dark outside, but the moon gave off a gentle light.  I gathered up a down sleeping bag, a large tent fly and my pillow, pulling my boots on before going out. Coming down the hill behind the house with a wad of fluffy bedding in my arms caused my horses to snort in surprise, but it also piqued their curiosity. Annie startled as I shook out the tent fly and spread it on the ground just outside the fence. I had chosen a soft spot just a couple feet outside the electric fence next to a large and probably very old juniper tree.  This was just the place to sleep for the night!  I was happy to finally be settling in to my long awaited experiment in connecting with the horses.  What do they do all night anyway?  The moon shown brightly on my face, making it hard to sleep,  I could hear the vibration of the horse's hooves through the ground  as I lay with my eyes tightly shut.  I noticed the rhythm this made and how each horse had a different pattern to their movement.  I fell asleep for a while and was awakened by the sound of Domingo's teeth grinding into the salt block.  I could hear this noise from my bedroom if I left the door open at night and now I knew for sure who it was.  "I will have his teeth checked," I told myself.    I traced the path of the moon as it made it's way across the sky in an arc.  Each time I woke up I connected another dot on it's path. At another waking point I could see the horses standing in the same configuration they make when seeking shade in the middle of the day. Annie was in the shelter and the two geldings stood just outside it facing toward her.  Was the moon really that bright?  I chuckled as I felt the rustling of the tent fly and the tug at the edge of it where Annie had reached under the fence to wake me.  I must have finally fallen asleep.  My sleeping bag and pillow were damp with heavy dew and the morning was cold and fresh,  As I sat up and touched Annie's nose, a sense of gratitude filled me.  How lucky I am to be able to share in these simple rhythms of day and night; sleeping and waking with my horses. .