“A Sit Spot is a nature awareness technique of finding a spot in nature, visiting the same spot every day for a minimum of 20 minutes and observing the environment over a prolonged period of time to gain a sense of understanding of self and place and witness the natural progression of seasons, changes in patterns and interactions of different elements in a system. The two main requirements of a sit spot are that it be close to your home and that it is a safe space to visit. Ideally it will have a good view, biodiversity and be wild in the sense that the area is uncultivated, but it doesn’t have to be in a remote, rural area. One should visit their sit spot during daylight and darkness, wind, rain, snow and sun.”
You can read about that class and see the first pictures of my Sit Spot here.
I’m happy to report that I have been going to my Sit Spot at least 3 or 4 times a week for the last 7 1/2 months, with long stretches of daily visits. This practice is truly a blessing and gift. It’s relaxing, peaceful and utterly stress reducing. It keeps me grounded and reminds me of what is important.
Every visit I make a new discovery, observation or witness something that amazes me, makes me smile or marvel in wonder. And it doesn’t take long at all before rhythms and patterns make themselves known. This year I noticed that the mallard ducks stayed all winter and the crows used the ashes across the river as their staging ground every evening, before heading to their roost at dusk. The seagulls were the first migratory birds to return, followed by the Canadian geese, then the red winged blackbirds, then the cormorants. The muskrats were really active in December and then disappeared until just a couple of weeks ago.
I’ve watched the water level rise and fall, freeze and thaw and had to move further up the bank this month as the actual spot where I sit has been under water for weeks. Yesterday was the first day I was able to sit where I usually do. It was gorgeous out so I brought a blanket and a book and stayed for two hours reading and napping along with my usual practice of ‘sitting’.
On the old blog I posted monthly pictures of my spot and will continue to do the same here. If you want to check out past months I’ll post links at the bottom of this post, and here is April. (The place where I normally sit is just to the left of the branches sticking up out of the water in the first photo. It was under a good 3-4 feet of water at the beginning of April. Yesterday I sat there.)