Sleeping Outside

Oh, my goodness! Pure joy to wake up under a canopy of wisteria, birds singing, sun just peeking over the fence. Long ago, we would pitch a tent in the backyard to enjoy summer nights, mid week, just to add some spark to our lives. We found that we loved sleeping out.

When we moved to this house, the previous owner had built a private little garden off the master bedroom in a side yard. He built an arbor and grew wisteria up the sides and over the top. Under this he put a hot tub. We thought this was ideal, soaking in the tub that first winter was a pleasure. But when spring arrived, we wanted a place for an outside bed and the arbor was just sitting there unused.

Off we went to Home Depot, buying plywood for the base, a wooden door for the headboard, outdoor carpet for the “floor.” It took us one afternoon to build the platform for the hot tub. We got a mattress and hung a mosquito net, making a cozy nest for the two of us.

The hot tub is still there, functional, if we want to use it. But honestly, we never have. Maybe this autumn, we’ll get it running again. In the meantime, we fall asleep to a chorus of crickets and frogs, the stars twinkling through the wisteria leaves. We are lucky here, most nights there’s a gentle cool breeze that rustles the leaves. It's one of the things we do that makes summer a very special time for us.

If there is anyway you can arrange to sleep out where you live, try it. It'll change your view on life.