So I, Jennifer, have found my Sit Spot. It is in the riparian part of another field behind the soybean field behind our land. It may sound like a long way, but it is only perhaps 300' away from our pasture. This field is an overgrown, lush, place with swaying goldenrod and a trembling aspen grove that has lost almost all of its leaves at this time of year. At the south-easternly edge there is a cedar wetland full of overturned trees and  ribcages of tree trunks that have been lost to the water. There is a fair bit of old farm detritus around, but right now it is hidden by the long grass and field peas.

The exact place of my Sit Spot is almost in the middle of this riparian field. Creeping through the middle of the field is an aspen grove that keeps expanding. Dotted around the edges of the grove are some stray black walnut trees let over from some squirrel's summer harvest. My tree is between the cedar marsh and the aspen grove. It is a comfortable spot that I can look out over a large area but remain what feels slightly hidden from others.

Often our dog Beauty and I go this route and in the past have stopped and looked around. She was with me today as well. Having a dog along is not necessarily great when you want to sit quietly and look, listen, and feel, but if I pet her constantly she will settle and be good. Having her along on this day was good as she was the one who directed me to my tree. I thank her for that as I am not sure I would have seen it.

We sat under our tree Beauty and I. She panted long and hard as she had just had a great sniff though the undergrowth. Her bell was pulsing to her panting so I turned it arund onto her back to muffle the sound. Off in the distance over the cedar marsh we heard a loud raucous racket. In the distance were a murder of crows flying around and around over the trees. Some would fly, caw constantly then land, and it seemed another group of crows would pick up where they left off. Around and around the crows went. Beauty thought this was quite fascinating. The wind started to pick up and every now and then I could feel a mist of rain through the walnut above me. Some inquisitive chickadees came a little closer, and one almost flew overhead. They didn't make much noise.

A group of crows is called a murder and this murder was moving closer. Slowly the crows all circled closer and closer. Suddenly they all took to the air and let loose their yells all at once. The sky seemed darker, more shrouded for a moment. Almost as quickly as they all exploded the crows settled down again. They had made their point and were satisfied for the night. A suitable roost had been found. A small bird then landed on a dead cedar tree at the edge of the marsh. Maybe it was a chickadee, I couldn't tell. It perched their for a moment, looked around then flew off into the brush beneath it.

the wet mist was now turing into small drops so I thought it was time to go. I wasn't really dressed for rain and I had chores to do at home. So we continued on our usual walking route. When crossing from one field to another we had a little detour to look for a couple of sticks. Beauty was very quite. As we were turning the corner away from the marsh, I heard a swishing in the bush in front and to the right of us. I really didn't know what it was so I stopped and made Beauty sit. In a brown and white flash a deer exploded out of the bush and through the soybean field. Even Beauty was surprised as she didn't move while the deer passed by. Once she realized what happened she bolted. She didn't get very far as her lead was on and it was short. We then went home to do chores.

I have to say, my first Sit Spot experience was pretty amazing!