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I love where we live and there are SO many positives...but I think it's my duty to give an honest review of the less romantic aspects of country living for those seeking similar countryside solitude.
So with that, here are some less romantic aspects of country living.
Enter at your own risk!
- Mice. Whether your house was built 1 year ago or 100 years ago, you will get mice. Somehow, they will find a way into your home. Not only that, they will get in your walls and you will be able to hear them scratching away in there if you happen to wake up during the night. The good news is, there are many ways to deal with them.
- The circle of life. Things will live, and things will die. The weeds are really good at living. So are skunks. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, all the kittens don't make it. But the ones that do will grow up and leave you lovely little gifts on your front doorstep. Mice. Mice stomachs. Voles. Baby mice. Baby voles. Birds. Baby birds. It's just the circle of life. Sometimes it is great (like mice and being dead) and sometimes it is very sad. I hate when my cats kill babybirds. I also hate finding beautiful owls who didn't make it through the winter for whatever reason. I do everything I can to keep all the animals under my stewardship safe. I think sometimes when you live in the city, you forget how common death can be. Living in the country teaches you a lot about death. But the wonderful thing about animals is they teach us to move on and keep living, no matter what happens.
- Dirt. It's basically everywhere. I sweep (vacuum) my house almost everyday and there is still dirt! My baby has dirt under his fingernails. How you ask? I have no idea! I promise I'm clean, there is just dirt. Although one day, I will have grass and a nice paved walkway in front of my house and I think that will help :).
- Weeds. They must be managed, always.
- Work. There is always something to do when you have some property. Always weeds to get rid of, animals to care for, and land to tend. We could pick up rocks and tree branches everyday for the rest of our life and there would still be more. I love finding ways to make our acreage low maintenance, but there is still always work.
- Bugs. I feel like the spiders get so much bigger when you live in the country. There is also an abundance of flies and fire bugs {Box Elder bugs} and grasshoppers....you name it! I used to feel bad about killing spiders because they were little and just trying to find a warm place to be, but not anymore! After living here, I am a ruthless spider slayer. And even if you don't believe in using harsh chemicals, you best keep a bottle of bleach or strong cleaner on your shelf because when that huge mama spider walks across your path with about a million tiny baby spiders on her back, ain't nobody got time to squash all those little creeps. Heebie jeebies for days, I'll tell you what.
- Strange smells. Smells really don't bug me. From the time I started riding horses my mom would gag every time she picked me up or had to wash my clothes and I seriously couldn't smell anything. But there are stenches that aren't super lovely to the average person when you live way out here. Rotting forage in the canal smells bad. Fields getting sprayed with animal poop smells bad {pig is the WORST}. I've been told animals stink. Ha! Dead things stink. Your dogs will REALLY stink when they get sprayed by a skunk. And that WILL happen eventually. After you work all day on your property, you will stink too!
- Traffic jams. You may be thinking you already deal with these. What I'm really talking about is a tractor jam. On a two lane highway. Going 5 mph. I happen to love it and just take the opportunity check out what kind of tractor it is, blast some tunes and enjoy the ride. But if you are in the habit of hurrying places, get out of it. Most of the time you can pass them safely within a minute or two, but sometimes, you just gotta wait. For miles.....
- Driving a lot. You will realize very quickly that it will take you at least twice as long to get somewhere and that you can't just run to the store to grab milk. Going shopping becomes a half day affair, at least. But then again, if you're part hermit like Andy and I, this won't be and issue.
- Tough conversations.I haven't experience this yet, but when you live out here, your kid is bound to see two animals mounting each other and ask you what they are doing. Or your friend who as never seen animals make a baby before. It will happen. So be ready. The best response? Just be honest. I have found that farm kids have a much better grasp and maturity about that topic than kids whose parents avoided the it {And your friend will just get a farm lesson they didn't bargain for}. Another tough conversation can be about why animals do what they do. Sometimes, mama animals kill their babies. Sometimes, they abandonthem. Sometimes, your dog will attack one of your chickens. Sometimes, the Tom cats will fight - to the death. You have to be able to talk about why that happens and not be scared of explaining it. You also have to spend time learning how animals communicate.This is probably the toughest conversation of all. If you are going to have animals, you better learn to understand them. They are NOT humans and do NOT behave like humans, no matter how badly you would like them too. Growling dogs doesn't always mean a fight. A hissing cat isn't necessarily a mean one. Chickens cluck differently when they need something vs. when they are laying vs. when they are scared. These conversations ar
e tough but so necessary.
So there you have it, just to name a few. Still wanna come be my neighbor? Ha. 😉
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