Cardinals at First Light

 The cardinals come precisely at sunset for a last bite to eat before bedtime. They are also early risers--here at the first light of day, half an hour before sunrise.

Sunrise and bedtime--excellent times for meditation. I've been trying out a new meditation schedule:

5:15 a.m.  half an hour by myself

6:00 a.m. 1 hour on Skype with 2 meditation friends

7:10 a.m. half an hour at our local meditation center on Zoom

8:00 a.m. 20 minutes with my neighbors on Zoom

I find this 1-2-3-4 schedule very helpful, like doing repetitions.

And i see the cardinals at first light.

No Electrons Running Through the House

The coldest 90 days of the year start on December 9, but it feels like they started December 5 this year. The sun is pale; the wind was strong enough to knock out our electricity. The electricity blinked a couple of times, and then, at bedtime, went out for 45 minutes.

Cold. Windy. Dark.

Pleasant or unpleasant?

It was so delicious to go to bed in the pitch black, before moonrise, with no electrons running through the house. Out like a light.