Last night Ray and I drove to our orange grove in Ojai and slept in our tent under the stars. The sky was clear with just a sliver of a moon so the stars were bright and it was easy to see the Milky Way sprinkled across the sky. What a glorious sight that is.
In the middle of the night, I awoke to the rustling of Cordelia and Sammie, who were in the tent with us. Off in the distance I could hear the howling of coyotes. The dogs didn’t answer back – which made me happy – but they clearly were aware that danger lurked in the distance.
Though Cordie is a slightly hefty Corgie and could give a good fight, I’m not sure she’d be able to fend off a pack of hungry coyotes. As for Sammie, the Scottie, she’d be a fast and easy morsel, snapped up before she even knew these were not her friends.
Luckily the coyotes stayed at bay and our night passed without incident. Other than a few wake-up moments to stare through the netting right up at the stars and to breathe in that clean, orange tree filtered air.
I am not sure there are many places I love as much as that orange grove. What a gift it is to be able to leave the city and be lying under the trees in just an hour and a half.
Happy night, folks. I’m heading off to my regular bed here in LA, but I’ll be dreaming about stars and coyotes tonight.
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