The Country Life

I haven't lived in anything resembling the country since I was 5-years-old and lived down a dirt road in Kentucky.  We're not too far out of town (I can be at the mall (why would I want to be?) in 15 minutes on the highway), but we're definitely rural (the post office and garbage collection routes confirm that this is so).  I wasn't sure if I would miss living in town, but I don't.  (Ask me about this again in January.)

Things I like about living in the country:

Animals.  Lots and lots of birds visit the yard to thrill The Bairn.  A pair of eagles live in a tree across the street from us.  There's also a marmot who lives on the shore road and we saw a fox the other day that The Bairn insists was a cat.

We're much closer to the tiny villages I love.  We only have to drive a short way now to stop in at the little stores on farms that sell local products or to pick up homemade maple syrup from strangers who post signs in their yards.

It's really quiet (except for the tractors and school buses and trucks out on the road).

And pretty.  The Bairn and I go out walking on the shore road which takes us past blueberry fields along the bay.  When I drive into town on the old highway (instead of the new highway), we pass farms and ponds (and all kinds of local businesses that cater to pets, including a pet wash and a pet cemetery).

We have so much space.  I suppose we could have gotten a property with this much space in town, but our taxes would be twice as much.

It helps that our part of the country includes one of our very favorite markets in the whole province.

Things I dislike about living in the country:

No sidewalks.