Country
I’m pretty much a city girl. I like to be near things, with not much drive time when I go somewhere. In neighborhoods where it’s just a few steps to your neighbor’s house. So the 30-minute commute necessary to get to work and vital things like the store, restaurant, movie theater & clubs is something that I’m still getting used to.
Kathy’s a country girl. She grew up in a house just down the street from where she lives, and can’t imagine living in a city neighborhood. A while back we were driving through a neighborhood and she commented about how living in a house with the neighbors so close would drive her crazy. It’s surprising that we’re as close as we are.
Living out here’s got its drawbacks. The road that I use for my exercising has snakes (yes, the poisonous kind) in the swamps next to it. And the fields along the road are scarred from the packs of wild pigs that come out at night rooting for insects. And then there’s the drive every day. I plan my errands so I only have to go into town once in a day, otherwise my gas bill would be worse than what it is.
Though it’s certainly got its good points. At night the stars come out far more brilliantly and easily seen than they ever do in town. And it’s awfully quiet out here. There are plenty of new experiences. Earlier this afternoon I rode Kathy’s horse for the first time. It was wonderful, I’d not been on a horse for close to 20 years (now that’s a comment that will make a woman feel old). And earlier I took the 4-wheeler out. Me, on a machine like that, I’d never have imagined. It was just a short trip down the street and back, but I did open it up all the way. All that wind in my face was exhilarating.
And a few weeks ago Kathy’s father had his gator out here to help us fix the fence. A gator is a 6-wheeled…ATV? Thing? Whatever. But it’s two-seated, with a bin in the back for tools, hay, & so forth. That night when I got home from work Kathy came in with a grin on her face & told me to get a warm jacket that could get muddy, & said that we were going for a ride. OK, no problem. Of course it’s dark & cold & windy. And she leads me to this green six-wheeled thing and we sit down. Wow. She drove that down the dirt road where we take our walks, swerving to hit every mud puddle we could. She had it going as fast as it could while we were doing it. Mud went everywhere on the gator, into the grass, on us. We were gone close to an hour, and it was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. Later that night she & her fiancee took it out even farther. And got stuck in the mud up to its hubs. Even now, two months later, you can still see the ruts where they'd coaxed it out.
The interesting thing is Kathy’s dogs ran with us as escort. I think we might have been going 25 – 30 mph, & those two dogs were matching us in speed the whole way. Of course, Molly, the short-legged mixed breed (I don’t have a clue what she’s got in her), got tired, so she got to ride in the back on the way home. Lucky, on the other hand, I think is part horse. Because he ran along with us the entire way, and still wasn’t tired by the time we got home. I was laughing the whole time.
Another nice thing about being out here is the quiet. At night the air is moist and sweet-smelling, with thousands of crickets and frogs chirping and singing in the back-ground. And if you've never seen a clear night sky at least 25 miles away from a major city, you need to go and do so. Tonight. It's incredible, and you'll be wondering why you'd not gone out earlier to see it.
It’s inconvenient as heck being out this far, but it certainly has its good points.
Shayla
Kathy’s a country girl. She grew up in a house just down the street from where she lives, and can’t imagine living in a city neighborhood. A while back we were driving through a neighborhood and she commented about how living in a house with the neighbors so close would drive her crazy. It’s surprising that we’re as close as we are.
Living out here’s got its drawbacks. The road that I use for my exercising has snakes (yes, the poisonous kind) in the swamps next to it. And the fields along the road are scarred from the packs of wild pigs that come out at night rooting for insects. And then there’s the drive every day. I plan my errands so I only have to go into town once in a day, otherwise my gas bill would be worse than what it is.
Though it’s certainly got its good points. At night the stars come out far more brilliantly and easily seen than they ever do in town. And it’s awfully quiet out here. There are plenty of new experiences. Earlier this afternoon I rode Kathy’s horse for the first time. It was wonderful, I’d not been on a horse for close to 20 years (now that’s a comment that will make a woman feel old). And earlier I took the 4-wheeler out. Me, on a machine like that, I’d never have imagined. It was just a short trip down the street and back, but I did open it up all the way. All that wind in my face was exhilarating.
And a few weeks ago Kathy’s father had his gator out here to help us fix the fence. A gator is a 6-wheeled…ATV? Thing? Whatever. But it’s two-seated, with a bin in the back for tools, hay, & so forth. That night when I got home from work Kathy came in with a grin on her face & told me to get a warm jacket that could get muddy, & said that we were going for a ride. OK, no problem. Of course it’s dark & cold & windy. And she leads me to this green six-wheeled thing and we sit down. Wow. She drove that down the dirt road where we take our walks, swerving to hit every mud puddle we could. She had it going as fast as it could while we were doing it. Mud went everywhere on the gator, into the grass, on us. We were gone close to an hour, and it was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. Later that night she & her fiancee took it out even farther. And got stuck in the mud up to its hubs. Even now, two months later, you can still see the ruts where they'd coaxed it out.
The interesting thing is Kathy’s dogs ran with us as escort. I think we might have been going 25 – 30 mph, & those two dogs were matching us in speed the whole way. Of course, Molly, the short-legged mixed breed (I don’t have a clue what she’s got in her), got tired, so she got to ride in the back on the way home. Lucky, on the other hand, I think is part horse. Because he ran along with us the entire way, and still wasn’t tired by the time we got home. I was laughing the whole time.
Another nice thing about being out here is the quiet. At night the air is moist and sweet-smelling, with thousands of crickets and frogs chirping and singing in the back-ground. And if you've never seen a clear night sky at least 25 miles away from a major city, you need to go and do so. Tonight. It's incredible, and you'll be wondering why you'd not gone out earlier to see it.
It’s inconvenient as heck being out this far, but it certainly has its good points.
Shayla
posted by shayla | 7:07 PM
2 Comments:
I can't believe the dogs were running along. How fun that sounds. I don't live in the country or the city. Is that what the suburbs are? I suppose so, huh? Anyway, we try and go to the country as often as possible for visits. It's so relaxing.
I've always called it the 'outskirts'. Neither suburb, in the city or out.
And yes, the dogs were running the whole way. I don't think Lucky was even really trying, & he had plenty left when we got back.
shayla
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