I love the picture book The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. It's a story about a little house in the country, surrounded by daisies, watching the sun rise and set and the seasons pass. The little house wondered what the far-off city was like. But as the city grew, and the little house first became part of a village, then part of a small city, then a big city, then in the midst of a huge city, the little house decided it missed the country and the daisies and the sunsets and the birds.
Down at the old house yesterday for church, I heard and then saw many many V's of migrating geese heading north. Now, I'm not too fond of Canada geese, but they weren't coming to live here -- they were passing through -- and seeing them was still a happy harbinger of spring. Later I heard and then saw V's of sandhill cranes migrating too. That always thrills my heart! And I wonder how I'll do in town, not being able to see the horizon, not being able to measure time by which wildflowers are in season. I fear that I may become the little house who ended up longing for her rural life back.
And yet...
on Friday the car's "check engine" light came on. And the new mechanic is only 8 minutes away instead of 33. (That really adds up when you have to make two roundtrips for each repair!) And yesterday I injured my neck helping to carry furniture up from the basement at the old house, and it's only 6 minutes to the D.O. instead of 70. So I'm finding there are definite benefits to living in town. Now, to focus on the gains instead of the losses....
Monday, March 17, 2008
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Yep. As much as I often long to live in the country, the benefits of living in town can't be ignored. Each is good in it's own way.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you'll have some time to read. :)
Flowers can be planted! The Soil and Water Conservation Districts for each county often have local wild flowers available in the spring; if they don't, call the county extension office.
ReplyDeleteWe're going to do this will a portion of our backyard - both to make mowing easier and to encourage friendlies like grasshoppers, ladybugs, and praying mantis.
We have that book and we love it!
ReplyDeleteI think Jane's right. There's good and bad about both the country and the city. I love living in this small rural town. That said, I'm still having a hard time accepting that the nearest Trader Joe's is two hours away. We're stopping there after Easter and I'm ridiculously excited about it....
Hope your neck is doing better.