Thinking about country life

After living in a rural setting for just over a year I am not about to call myself an expert about country life. There are many people who live around us that have been here for 20 or more years, so I still have a thing or two to learn. But, there are several things I have experienced over the last year that make living in the country just a bit more interesting than I’m used to. Here are a few of them, in no particular order.

• I have watched the river rise two feet above flood stage and then recede—all in about four hours. Although the river is a good 25 yards from our house it’s still a little disconcerting.
• I’ve seen a deer break its leg and then had to find a neighbor to shoot it for me (Richard was out hunting and I don’t know how to shoot yet.)
• I learned how to cook a venison roast. (Note the afore mentioned deer.)
• I’ve had to stop in the road for chickens, sheep, deer, and rabbits, and have done my share of time driving behind tractors on the highway.
• I own rubber boots for the first time since I was a child. They are black with polka dots and are exceptionally cute. I wear them almost everyday.
• The closest latte worth the money is about 10 miles away. Fortunately for me I own one French press, one stovetop espresso maker and one espresso machine.
• People around here say “ODFW” like I’m supposed to know what that means. (I do now—Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)
• We had our last frost on Memorial Day this year. Our neighbors warned us about late frosts—turns out they weren’t kidding!
• Our “neighbors” are about two acres away.
• People around here leave the keys in their tractors (And yeah, most of the people we’ve met own a tractor).
• They also leave the keys in their work trucks. (Also a common thing to own.)
• It’s different when it rains in the country. The ground gets soggy (because most of it isn’t asphalt) and things get muddy. The water table rises beneath us on about an acre of our property and we have a little pond for a few months. We can also see the storms coming from the west. They roll in over the mountain range and seem to hover over our little valley and dump buckets before they move on.

The adjustments over the last year or so have been, for the most part, fun and rewarding. Richard is much more accustomed to the ways of rural living so isn’t bewildered by the mysteries of the well pump room or frightened of the noises in the night. (Likely raccoons outside our window.) I am coming around though—and while I may not be an expert yet, I have the cutest boots in the neighborhood.