Although I'm tired and sore of body today, I'm clear and content of mind. I worked on the new weeds growing in the side yard, in an area I haven't tended much. Green shoots are coming up through the high grasses that I had cut down a month ago.

I've lived here two years now, and I'm starting to get a handle on what's a decorative plant and what's an ugly weed. I always thought I knew what ugly was, but at first I didn't want to pull up anything I wasn't sure was a weed. Now I'm not so picky. If it's growing where it shouldn't, it goes. If I call it a weed, a weed it is.

New ground cover is coming up in the planter area next to the house. The weeds had overgrown it during the spring and summer, completely hiding it. Since I had the yard cut back, it's been a battle to get things back to the lush growth I had earlier in the year. I don't really expect much to happen before spring, but it was heartening to see the bright green leaves coming up where not long ago it was all brown.

It was satisfying, too, to find how easy it was to pull up dandelions and similar nuisances in the crisp, damp evening air. They're usually so hard to get up that I even bought a special tool for the purpose. I didn't need it today, though. I cleared about half the side yard of dandelion-type plants with my bare hands, although I did wear gloves.

I worked at it a little longer than I should have, and I could feel it in my legs. That's okay, because working at my desk all day affects my back and neck more. Now that I'm sore all over, nothing really hurts.

I did get a little more out of breath than I'd like, but that's what comes from letting myself get out of shape. Since I started my latest nutrition regimen (not a diet, not a diet) a week and a half ago, I've been getting more exercise, but it's still a struggle to find the time.

It's even more of a struggle to find the energy, but I'm working on it. At some point everything will click, and I'll be happy with the way I'm eating and the way I'm exercising. I'll know I'm doing the right thing because my body will be as much at ease as my mind.

Mostly I'll know because I'll be able to bend over more than twice without gasping for air. If I keep pushing myself the way I did this afternoon, that day will get here sooner.

My whole world came to a stop for a few minutes late this afternoon, just as the sun was thinking about setting. Something I've never seen before happened. A large spotted owl came swooping low through my back yard and lit on top of the wood fence, just outside the sliding glass door. I couldn't do anything but stand and stare. It gave me such a thrill that I couldn't move until it flew off.

No more than a minute later, I saw it again on the other side of the house. In the large field beyond my yard are a few free-standing posts where a fence was once contemplated or, perhaps where one had fallen down long ago. The bird took its position on one of these posts and just watched. Twice I saw it dive out of my sight into the high brush and come back up to its perch.

I didn't know country living could surprise me again, after two years. I guess I knew there were owls here, but I'd never seen one and I had no idea how big they are. It was like having a visitor from a storybook. It's hard to explain how eerie it felt to see this creature appear as if out of nowhere and take up residence in my little corner of the planet. I couldn't take my eyes off it, until it disappeared for the last time.

I'm really proud to be a member of the human family today. I heard and read many different kinds of reactions to yesterday's anniversary, each unique and each adding to the overall perspective. For the most part, and this is what makes me so proud, we let each other be. We allowed each other to have different responses, or no response at all. If we could spread this tolerance a little, let it saturate more aspects of society, we would be moving down the road to that better world I keep dreaming about.