Sleeping Under the Stars…

…or the clouds as the case may be.  Even though I did a lot of outdoor sports many years ago I have never slept out in the open before.  I always wondered what it would be like and as this is what Hazel and Pollyanne do all the time I was particularly anxious to try it out.  With me I have a sleeping mat and a sleeping bag and at night time I put on extra clothes.  Because Hazel and Pollyanne move around a lot and do not always sleep in the same place I am sometimes caught out without my sleeping bag at night time when they decide that they fancy a snooze.  Instead of going back over the field and getting my mat or bag I have been just lying down on the ground and nodding off on the grass.

It’s surprisingly comfortable and the only thing that concerns me is that I may be still asleep when Hazel decides she is done and trots off.  I know she can see me but I try to find a little nook to slot into out of harms way anyway.  Probably because of sleep deprivation I am now finding it very easy to drop off in the strangest of places.  During my last little snooze I was surpsised to hear a man talking to some one on a radio programme, out of the blue.  “Mmm, I recognise that voice” I thought, “but hey, why can I hear a radio?”  Well I seemed to be dreaming and still awake, just for a moment.  Once I got over my surprise I dropped off properly within seconds.

Last night there was a bit of rain while I slept and so drops of water were falling on my face while I lay there.  I thought to myself that Hazel and Pollyanne regularly have to put up with this but the fact that their eyes are not staring straight up to the sky when they sleep probably helps.  Also, their ears do not act like reservoirs and collect water just in case there is a water shortage later on.   They also sleep with their bums to the wind and this is something I haven’t even bothered trying.   I would feel much too ridiculous and I think I would just fall over anyway.

A large portion of their time asleep is spent standing up so this means they do not loose very much heat through the soil, as I did the first night when I forgot my sleeping mat.  Hazel will sleep for a portion of the time with her body on the ground and prefers dry bare soil than grass or gravel for this purpose.   Once the sleeping is over it is straight back into eating.   My mind boggles at what it would be like to eat for most of the day.  But as they have evolved to do this I am sure that it feels like the most perfect thing in the world.

I have one night left and I am looking forward to it.  I think I would prefer if it didn’t rain but I came out here to see what Hazel and Pollyanne’s world is like, not to go on a summer holiday, so whatever comes I will take and enjoy.

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