I don't know how you qualify country living, but I consider myself a part of the club for five reasons.
1. I can go outside looking like this without fear of embarrassment.
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| Yes, those are pink and green frog socks. |
In my defense, my sweet Jenny-boo left her lights on all night and I had to go out and find jumper cables and recharge her battery. (All country-girls can do this without blowing themselves up.) I was in a hurry. I won't mention that it was 11:30am and I had been sitting at the computer playing on Facebook. No, that's too much information.
And, I had to beat the dogs off me just to get this picture. Not literally. . .in the country we use the word beat alot. We wear wife-beaters. (tank tops) We're often beat. (tired. . .or if you are a UT fan this year, you can use the more literal term) If we don't like you, we tell you to beat it. (leave) And some country people pickle beets and actually eat them. I am not in that club. But I digress. . .
2. Speaking of dogs, in the country, animals just show up at your house and decide they live there. Here is one example.
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| Meet Auggie Doggie |
This guy showed up at our house last year just before Christmas and hasn't decided to leave yet. He obviously wasn't raised here and you can immediately tell because he is well-mannered and doesn't think the study is a place to do the doo. I wasn't too keen on keeping him and called him "brown dog" for the first three months he resided on our porch. (I was in denial.) But he won me over and can often be found lounging on our futon with his head on a pillow like he owns the place.
He joins two other canine companions that were brought here against their will, but they seem to like it ok.
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Meet Ellie
(named for Cinderella, but more closely resembes the step-sisters. . .I'm just sayin) |
This poor, sad looking thing is Ellie. The dog who craves eye contact so much that she will sit and stare at you until you give it to her. She is only 2 years-old, but she acts like she's a geriatric. A very slow moving old soul who likes to jump up and wipe her feet on you, especially if you are wearing white.
And if we lived in the Land of Misfit Dogs, this would be its leader.
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| Meet Tuco. . .there are just no words for this dog |
My tail-less wonder. . .Tuco is a schipperke - the only animal with lineage at our house. And his story is a tale of a moment of weakness and pity. Usually, in a marital relationship, at any given moment there is at least one person who exhibits some form of common sense and self-control. This was not one of those moments. After going into a pet store to buy some food for a hermit crab (who bit the dust some time ago,) we ended up leaving with THIS. Ok, so I have to plead our case. He had been in that store for 4 months living in his own excrement (literally) in a tiny cage. And he was U-G-L-Y. He had even been discounted twice - they were that desperate for some suckers to take him. We looked at him and said, "No one in their right mind will EVER buy THAT dog." Then, we bought him. And he was sick and a mess and the worst dog on the planet to ever house train. Even the vet thought we were insane. But, he actually fits into our family quite nicely.
Three dogs. . .and in the country, we let sleeping dogs lie.
3. Yard concrete. Need I say more?
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| This is not a real goose. I know you thought it was. |
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| Even though their legs are amputated and they look very sad, I love these frogs. |
Both of these works of art belonged to my grandparents, so I am very lucky to carry the yard concrete tradition into the 21st century. And yes, that is a mostly dead plant in a pot that never made it into the ground.
4. Country people have gardens. Yes, I have a garden. . .of weeds. But I do have a couple things that refuse to die and I like them alot. Here's one. . .
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| Lambs' Ear rocks. . .and they used to use it for toilet paper. Did you know that? |
Oh wait, what's this?
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| A shrinking violet? I think NOT. |
I grew this hardy specimen right in my front yard! Right in the middle of that beautiful grass! Sometimes I really amaze myself. . .
But mostly, I have a garden of trees. I highly recommend that. They are very low maintenance.
This is my masterpiece. . .Dang, I'm GOOD! :-)
But what about this?
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| A dead tree? Oops. . . |
Yes, it is a real shame that I don't know anyone who could cut this dead tree down for me. It's like the old saying, "A cobbler's kid has no shoes." Yep. True with tree guys, too. Those of you waiting for my hubby to cut your trees will be serviced WAY before me. But its still pretty in its own way.
5. Last but not least. . .septic tanks. Yes, you KNOW you live in the country when you have great septic tank stories. Remember that one time when it rained for 5 days straight and the septic tank. . .you get the point. And I couldn't leave it out of our picture montage.
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| No, this is not a grave. Yes, that is a basketball. |
Country people often have random dangerous holes in their yards. After my hubby had to dig to get to the entrance to that enchanted-world-of-septic-tank-wonder one too many times, he refused to fill it in again. So, there it is. We find lots of cool things in it - toys, tools, small children. And I personally love mowing next to the edge. It's so exciting.
So, yes, I think we qualify as country people. And I love it. There are few places where you can find beauty everywhere you look. . .even in a septic tank hole. And you can be proud of chunks of concrete in your front yard. And not mind that you have more weeds than grass. Because its all good. Even the septic tank stories. One day I'll tell you the one about the lady who came to pump our septic tank and it had rained and it was slippery and. . .
It's a good one. City people don't know what they are missing.
