Day One

So turn me loose, set me free somewhere in the middle of Montana
Gimme all I've got coming to me
and keep your retirement and your, so called, social security
Big City turn me loose and set me free

Iris DeMent, Big City


editor's note: the author has been corrected that the above was not, in fact, written by Iris DeMent—although undoubtedly a memorable cover—but rather, written by the esteemed Merle Haggard

Today I took a tour of my new locale: Ucross, population 25. There is a big red barn, an old train depot, a creek I'm told I can swim in, and acres and acres of land. You can't turn your head without seeing a rabbit. The fields are full of wild turkeys. The amount of deer is staggering. Cottonwoods line the creek, cattails spring up from the marsh and if you turn your face to the sky you can catch some ospreys in flight.

I'm told it could turn to fall the short stay I am here, but for now the sun is bright and bold, the sky, of course, blue, and the meadows quite dry from summer. Besides the lovely studio space, I have a bike, mountains of books every where, a carefully-stocked kitchen, the requisite flashlight, and no way to leave. For the next coupla weeks, I will learn what it is like to be alone. Right now the moon is just a sliver, so I'm going to do what any city gal would. I'ma go look at the stars.