Sunday, June 19, 2011

Life in the Country

Except for a short stint in town when I was in grades one and two, I have always lived in the country. And for the last 11 years, on a farm. And while there are a few aggravating things about country life (read: flies!) I can't imagine living anywhere else. Here are my top ten reasons for living in the country.

10. The smells. Fresh cut grass, wood smoke, corn pollinating, the fresh country air. (Not manure-we're pretending manure doesn't exist for the sake of this post.)


9. Lightning bugs. There's something about sitting outside in the summer, watching the lightning bugs. There isn't much light out here, so it makes it even more special.

8. Seclusion. We aren't very far from town, but one of my favorite things about where we are is being surrounded by fields. I love when the fields around the house are planted with corn (as they are this year.) By late summer, the house is completely surrounded by corn plants 7 feet tall. It's a very secure, secluded feeling that I love.


7. No noise. Living out here is quiet (when the kids aren't around.) There's no traffic or street noise. No horns beeping or sirens blaring. There's the occasional "moo." That's about it.

6. Experiences. I love giving our kids this experience of living in the country. They get to get their hands dirty and work. They have plenty of pets to care for. They get to see cattle every day. They can see, ride, and work on machinery. They watch the crops being planted, grown, and harvested. There's so much to do and experience here.


5. Plenty of space for a garden. This year we have planted corn, tomatoes, cucumber, green peppers, red peppers, zucchini, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, and eggplant. Can't wait for those tomatoes to be ready. These's nothing better than a fresh, warm tomato straight from the garden.



4. Grass to mow. Fresh cut grass is one of my favorite smells, and I love mowing the grass. It gets me outside in the warm sun and gives me a couple hours of me time during the summer while the kids play. I love how the sound of the mower drowns out everything else.

3. Telling the kids to "go play outside" and not having to worry about them being out there without me for a few minutes while I take a deep breath and regroup.

2. Hanging laundry on the line. I am sure you can do this in town as well, but there's something about the fresh country air and seeing those clothes gently sway in the breeze.


1. No neighbors. I love looking out and seeing land, not houses. Being able to run outside looking a mess or half-dressed...unless there is a whole crew of farm men in the field nearby. Heh.


What do you love about where you live? Is it the tall buildings and city lights? Maybe a quiet neighborhood in the suburbs? Tell me what makes your space special.


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8 comments:

Finding Normal said...

I will give you the country. And the manure. HA!
I love where we live. It is quiet 98% of the time. The jungle gives us nice shade and privacy. And we are close to stuff while still feeling like we're far away. I do wish our driveway was flat enough to allow some serious basketball games.

Leslie Moon said...

We live in the country and Im like you; wouldnt live anywhere else. There is nothing like living the simple life. I can go out in the yard and get in the kiddie pool with the kids and not worry about what the neighbors think - because there aren't any!

Fearless_Fabulous_Gayle said...

I like looking out the window into the backyard. There is a sea of green. Grass, Trees, Horses, and fence-posts is all I can see.
If I look out the front door; cow pastures.
I wouldn't trade my view for a city view.
I also like being able to run outside half "nekkid" if I want to, LOL!!

Shelley said...

I love living in the country. Our family farm is about 800 acres and we are spread out along the perimeter. I love that my kids get to watch and handle our cows and I love the quietness here. Love all your reasons too.

Anonymous said...

I agree with everything you have written EXCEPT two things.

The laundry on the line. I can not stand the smell of clothes dried on the line. I don't know what it is, but I can't do it. lol

Oh and the corn surrounding you!!! EEKS!! I always think of the movie Signs and creeps me out. I asked my hubby if at all possible he never plant corn right around the house and he goes no way haven't you ever seen the movie Signs. lol We are on the same wave length!

Anonymous said...

I agree with everything you have written EXCEPT two things.

The laundry on the line. I can not stand the smell of clothes dried on the line. I don't know what it is, but I can't do it. lol

Oh and the corn surrounding you!!! EEKS!! I always think of the movie Signs and creeps me out. I asked my hubby if at all possible he never plant corn right around the house and he goes no way haven't you ever seen the movie Signs. lol We are on the same wave length!

Cheryl said...

I kinda have the best of both worlds...We live on the outer edge of our town on a corner lot. We have a neighbor on one side of our house and that's it...the other side is a gravel road (there's a house there, but it's farther back than our house and that side of the road is considered out of city boundaries...they have horses, a barn, etc....just like living in the country), the neighbor to the back is so far behind our house that it doesn't really count...and to the front of our house across the street is a nature reserve. We see deer and turkeys all the time! We even saw a fox once! And our country neighbor (on the gravel road side) said they saw a bobcat the other day! Kinda scary, but I guess that's what we get for living out in the boonies! We do have some minor traffic that goes by our house due to the Country Club being out by where we live, but it's not like a constant flow of cars...so it's very quiet. We put in a backyard waterfall/pond last summer and are LOVING it this year...we put some Koi in our pond this year and LOVE sitting on the patio watching the fish! We've lived here nearly 14 years and don't plan on moving anytime soon! :o)

Darlene said...

That last picture looks just like where my grandparents live outside of Palestine, AR. It has to be the flattest piece of real estate on earth with mutant mosquitos to boot.

Love your blog - from one teacher to another - hang in there!

Darlene