Nothing much happens: bedtime stories to help you sleep - Out and Back

Episode Date: July 6, 2026

Our story tonight is called Out and Back, and it’s a story about a calm way to cap a long summer day. It’s also about hickory trees and fresh hay in the field, katydids and kickstands, and letting your senses fill with the sights and sounds around you, being here while here is happening. Subscribe to our Premium channel. The first month is on us. 💙 Whether it's a hobby, a passion, or a long-held idea, Shopify can help you bring it to life. Start with a free trial at ⁠⁠shopify.com/nothingmuch⁠ We give to a different charity each week, and this week we are giving to ⁠Wishbone Pet Rescue⁠ in Douglas, Michigan. They work to protect, shelter, and rehome animals in need. ⁠⁠⁠Pre-register for the Village of Nothing Much app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Use code VILLAGE-FOUNDER for 25% off for life! Sign up for our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay in the know. Pre-order Kathryn’s new book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On the Street Where You Live⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠NMH merch, autographed books, and more⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to our daytime show, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stories from the Village of Nothing Much⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sit Meditation with Kathryn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pay It Forward Subscription⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nothing Much Happens⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more Village fun. Stop by The Inn on your adventures with this playlist! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get more, nothing much happens with bonus episodes, extra long stories, and ad-free listening, all while supporting the show you love. Subscribe now. If you're looking for something a little more lively and outspoken, Tukes takes might be right up your alley. LeKendra Tukes shares bold, unfiltered takes on reality TV and real life with a mix of humor and honesty that's really engaging. Find Tukes takes wherever you listen. Welcome to bedtime stories for everyone, in which nothing much happens. You feel good, and then you fall asleep. I'm Catherine Nikolai. I write and read all the stories you hear on Nothing Much Happens. Audio Engineering is by Bob Wittersheim. We give to a different charity each week. And this week we are giving to Wishbone Pet Rescue in Douglas, Michigan.

They work to protect, shelter, and re-home animals in need. Learn more about them in our show notes. Before we begin, a little reminder that we're just four days away from launching the Nothing Much Happens app. Thousands of villagers have already joined, and we can't wait to welcome you to. If you sign up before launch, you'll still save 25,000. percent off with our founder's pricing. We'll also be celebrating together on launch day with our very first live event. I'll be sitting down with Bob Wittersheim, the wonderful producer and sound

designer behind Nothing Much Happens for a live conversation at 6 p.m. Eastern on July 9th. We'd love to have you there. Visit nothingmuch happens.com to join us. In silence, your brain can often spin into chaos. There's no guard rails to keep it in line. But a story gives you an external framework for your thoughts, which helps them settle rather than spin. And all you have to do is listen. I'll read our story twice, and I'll go a little slower the second time through. If you wake again in the night, don't wait to see if the spinning will resume. Just push play again,

and you'll drop right back off. Our story tonight is called Out and Back, and it's a story about a calm way to cap a long summer day. It's also about hickory trees and fresh hay in the field. Katie dids and kickstands and letting your senses fill with the sights and sounds around you. Being here while here is happening. People often ask me things like how books, podcasts, memberships, and online shops actually get started. And the answer is usually much less glamorous than they expect.

You have an idea, you put it into the world, and then you need a way for people to support. And that's one of the things Shopify does so well. It removes a lot of the friction between having an idea and actually selling it. From day one, the tools are there, including checkout. So when someone is ready to buy, the process is simple and seamless. I remember how reassuring it was to know that part was already handled. Customers could browse, make a purchase, come back later without having to start from scratch each time. Shopify checkout makes the experience smooth for them, which makes it easier for you to focus on your business. And once the basics are working, your attention can shift from setting things up to actually growing what you've built.

And that's where the fun begins. With Shopify, nothing stands between your idea and a real business. So go make it one. Start your free trial at Shopify.com slash nothing much. Go to Shopify.com slash nothing much. That's Shopify.com slash nothing much. So lights out campers. Set things down. Be done with the day. Get as comfortable as you possibly can. And let your whole body relax into your bed. You have done enough for today.

It's enough. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Let it out your mouth. Nice. One more. Breathe in. and out. Good, and back. The screen door clapped into its frame behind me as I hopped down the back porch steps and strode through the high grass to the shed. It needed cutting, but the heat had been too high for the last few days,

both for me to push the heavy mower in lines across the yard, and for the poor grass, which was already struggling not to burn up in the blazing sun. I guessed we had another hour or more of daylight left to the day. And with the sun shifting down behind the trees, the heat had mellowed to something still warm, but more like a glow than a glare. The shed door took two tugs to swing open, and as it did, a moth slipped past me into the evening air.

I thought about how moths fly toward porch lights, confusing them for the moon, a navigational disconcertion that has them circling back again and again. Of course, it wasn't just moths who misplaced their landmarks, and get lost in loops. It can happen to all of us. Wheeling my bike out,

I pressed down on the saddle and bounced it a few times against the pavement, checking that the tires hadn't lost any air. It felt springy and firm, ready for a good long ride. And I threw one leg across the frame and climbed on. Those first few wobbly feet of each ride

always make me laugh. When you're not going fast enough to balance easily and you end up turning the handlebars too sharply and then over-correcting back again, it only lasts a second or two before the forward momentum smooths everything out. But it does keep one humble.

Our driveway is a long one that's common out here in the countryside, where houses might sit a good quarter mile back from the road. Ours wasn't quite that long, but nearly. And 50 years ago, someone had planted a row of shag bark hickory trees on either side of the drive whose leaves formed a tall, rustling canopy

as I peddled under it. I thought of that saying about planting trees whose shade you'll never sit in. I wondered if I had gotten my own hands into that sort of dirt lately. I turned left onto the two-lane road at the end of our drive.

And after a couple hundred yards right onto a secondary street, with almost no traffic, over the years, I'm pretty sure I have ridden up and down every road in a five-mile radius. I'd loved finding a new path from one point on the map to another. riding down the street I'd never been on for the very first time. Even now, I tried to follow a different route with each ride, though I wasn't likely to run across some brand-new adventure today.

It had been a while since I'd taken this particular way. The road had been graded and recently. So while the spring-melt potholes were gone, There was a bit of loose gravel scattered over the surface. I slowed down, feeling my tires skid on the grit, and rode closer to the edge where there was a clear path. Cat tails grew in the ditch, which meant we'd had more rain than most summers.

The land here was marshy, But there had been plenty of julys when paltry precipitation left these acres more brown than green. And cat tails are aquatic. So the ditches must have at least some water flowing through them. My legs found a rhythm on the flat road. And my mind smoothed out, just following the same. the steady movement and hum of my tires. In a field ahead of me,

a tractor pulled a rake through the windrows, gathering up hay that had been cut a day or two before. As I peddled past, I watched the machine turn and align one wheel with the edge of its last pass, so not a stem was lost. Fresh-cut hay in the heat of midsummer has a rich, unmistakable and wonderful scent. Like grass, but woodier, like honey, but greener, like dust, that's been sun-baked. In the distance, I could just make out the apple trees of the orchard.

low and wide and evenly spaced. I wondered how the fruit was growing this year. The polar reds and the ginger golds would already begin to ripen in just a month or so. The road curved and dipped slightly, and I let my feet rest still. on the petals as gravity pulled me forward. A head, I could hear the river.

This was a dead end when I knew it. Often I preferred a loop when I rode. A steadily changing view, with none of it repeated. But today I was riding out and back. And that felt neat and tidy, like being on the exact middle page of a book, like an even number, or the color blue. The road ended with the guardrail, set across its width. And I stopped and propped my bike on its kickstand beside it. The galvanized steel had a mottled and slightly rusty look.

And I wondered when it had been put there. One day there wasn't a barrier, and then one day there was, and would be for 50 years, 70. I stepped around one end of it and walked down a worn footpath, through the trees toward the river. The water was moving steadily, not rushing, but a leaf dropped on the surface in front of me, would surely be out of sight in a minute or less.

With my eyes closed, I listened past the sound of the moving water and could still faintly make out the tractor, working back and forth through its rows. And there was a high buzzing sound that, as I tuned into it, I realized had been so constant for days now that I'd mostly stopped hearing it.

The Katie dids. The smell of the woods around me was redolent of damp soil. and minerals and tree bark. I've tried to store all these things, the sights, sense and sounds, and carry them somewhere in my pockets to have for January.

But my brain doesn't seem to work like that. Maybe there are holes in my pockets. But I've learned that when I later go reaching for these bits of sense memory, I will come up empty-handed, and if anything that has made them sweeter to sit with, in the moment, more special for how temporary they are. So I stayed another ten minutes or so, leaning my back against a tree and watching the river flow past, breathing slow and deep. and then eventually I pushed away from the trunk

climbed up the bank back to my bike and kicked the stand back into place I walked my bike a few yards before I climbed aboard ready now to head back home and put another summer day

to bed and back the screen door clapped into its front frame behind me as I hopped down the back porch steps and strode through the high grass to the shed. It needed cutting, but the heat had been too high for the last few days, both for me to push the heavy mower in lines across the yard and for the poor grass, which was already struggling not to burn up in the blazing sun. I guessed we had another hour or more of daylight left to the day, and with the sun shifting down behind the trees, the heat had mellowed to something still warm,

but more like a glow than a glare. The shed door took two tugs to swing open, and as it did, a moth slipped past me into the evening air. I thought about how moths fly toward porch lights, confusing them for the moon, a navigational disconcertion that has them circling back again and again. Of course, it wasn't just moths. who misplaced their landmarks and got lost in loops. It can happen to all of us. Wheeling my bike out, I pressed down on the saddle and bounced it a few times against the pavement,

checking that the tires hadn't lost any air. It felt springy and firm, ready for, good, long ride, and I threw one leg across the frame and climbed on. Those first few wobbly feet of each ride always make me laugh. When you're not going fast enough to balance easily and you end up turning the handlebars too sharply, then over-correcting back again. It only lasts a second or two before the forward momentum smooths everything out. But it does keep one humble. Our driveway is a long one that's common out here in the countryside.

where houses might sit a good quarter mile back from the road. Ours wasn't quite that long, but nearly, and 50 years ago, someone had planted a row of shag bark, hickory trees, on either side of the drive, whose leaves formed a tall, rustling canopy. As I peddled under it, my thought of that saying about planting trees whose shade you'll never sit in and wondered if I had gotten my own hands

into that sort of dirt lately. I turned left onto the tip, two-lane road at the end of our drive. And after a couple hundred yards, right onto a secondary street with almost no traffic over the years, I'm pretty sure I have ridden up and down every road in a five-mile radius. I'd loved finding a new path from one point on the map to another,

riding down the street I'd never been on for the very first time. Even now, I tried to take a different route with each ride. and though I wasn't likely to run across some brand new adventure today, it had been a while since I'd gone this particular way.

The road had been graded and recently. So while the spring melt potholes were gone, there was a bit of loose gravel scattered on the surface. I slowed down feeling my tires skid on the grit and rode closer to the edge where there was a clear path. Cat tails grew in the ditch, which meant we'd had more rain than most summers. The land here was marshy,

but there had been plenty of julys when poultry precipitation left these acres more brown than green. Cat tails are aquatic, so the ditches must have at least some water flowing through them. My legs found around, rhythm on the flat road, and my mind smoothed out just following the steady movement and hum of my

tires in a field ahead of me. A tractor pulled a rake through the windrows, gathering up hay that had been cut a day or two before. As I peddled past, I watched the machine turn and align one wheel with the edge of its last pass so not a stem was lost.

Fresh cut hay in the heat of midsummer has a rich unmistakable and wonderful scent like grass but woodier like honey but greener like dust that's been sun-baked in the distance i could just make out the apple trees of the orchard low and wide and evenly spaced. I wondered how the fruit was growing this year. The polar reds and ginger golds would already begin to ripen in a month or so. The road curved and dipped slightly, and I let my feet rest still on the petals as gravity pulled me forward. As gravity pulled me

forward. A head I could hear the river. This was a dead end, and I knew it. Often, I preferred a loop when I rode, a steadily changing view, with none of it repeated. But today I was riding out and back. That felt neat and tidy, like being on the exact middle page of a book, like an even number, or the color blue. The road ended with the guardrail, set across its width, and I stopped and propped my bike on its kickstand beside it. The galvanized steel had a mottled and slightly rusty look, and I wondered when, it had been put there. One day there wasn't a barrier, and then one day there was, and would be for 50, 70 years, I stepped around one end of it and walked down a worn footpath through the trees

toward the river. The water was moving steadily, not rushing. But a leaf dropped on the surface in front of me would surely be out of sight in a minute or less, with my eyes closed. I listened past the sound of the moving water and could still faintly make out the tractor, working back and forth through its rows. And there was a high buzzing sound that as I tuned into it, I realized had been so constant for days now that I'd mostly stopped hearing it. The Katie dids. The smell of the woods around me was redolent of damp soil and minerals. And tree bark.

I've tried to store all of these things, the sights, sense and sounds, and carry them somewhere in my pockets to have for January. But my brain doesn't seem to work like that. Maybe there are holes in my pockets. But I've learned that when I later go reaching, for these bits of sense memory, I will come up empty-handed, if anything, that has just made them sweeter

to sit-mouth in the moment, more special for how temporary they are. So I stayed another ten minutes or so, leaning my back against a tree and watching the river flow past, breathing slow but deep. And then eventually, I pushed away from the trunk, climbed up the bank, back to my bike, and kicked the stand back into place. I walked my bike a few yards before I walked my bike a few yards before I, climbed aboard, ready now to head back home and put another summer day. Sweet dreams.