The temperature dropped below freezing that night in the woods, and my usual late spring camping set up wasn’t enough. In the small hours, I donned every item of spare clothing I had, including my huge rain cape, and squeezed back into my sleeping bag, shivering. I finally got up just after dawn to the May-time sounds of birds, seemingly annoyed at my presence in the clearing. This was after a pre-dawn hour of a tawny owl (unironically and loudly) calling the koan, ‘Who, who?’ directly above my tent. Needless to say, I did not gain sudden enlightenment.
First published here with full transcript, notes and more images, February 27th 2023.
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