I decided to settle in. Next came an Orthodox couple—he in a black frock coat and beaver fur hat, she in a glossy wig, neither of them, amazingly enough, sweating in the bright heat. Then a stooped man in a shirt and tie, carrying a thick book, “The Psychology of Shame.” Three pretty young women who were, all three of them, talking on their cell phones—I hope not to each other. A dreadlocked street person, pushing a groaning shopping cart. People speaking Italian, French, Spanish; arguing, laughing, sulking. I could have easily stayed all day. Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvellous things—the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life, and the exhilarating experience of open space. I wish there were some way you could have all that and still be reminded of the wild array that we humans are. Instead, it seems like you can watch birds or people, but not both.