Mike got out early, thinking he woukd unload the cattle mineral pallet he brought in from the co-op drop yesterday. Required a couple of moves, and I think he was on foot going to the first one.
He turned back up inside a bit later...got involved on the cell phone with daughter, then somewhere as he was walking that way, realized he had put his jersey shorts on inside -out, so backtracked to change, because he has to take his boots off to do so. ( Yes, I did consciously decide long ago that if people want their clothes back rightside out, they can turn them that way going into the hamper!)
I was partly conscious, so offered to drive him to move his truck and then the tractor. Outwitting the horse and two mules through three sets of double gates was going to be quite the mental challenge this morning. While waiting for him to bring the Mule up from the shed in the bottom, I started filling hummingbird feeders. Those little buggers had drained several in just three days, and were buzzing me this morning, begging for more.
As we bounced down the lane, sunlight on dewy grass and wildflowers, cool air for July breezing through the open windshield, I realized what 's been bugging me for way too long. I have been living in the country, but missing the country life.
Face it: when a good grocery store is over twenty miles away, you deal with dust or mud and not much in between, and getting to a real museum is no less than a half-day drive commitment, it is not all that easy to love a remote location, unless you actually enjoy nature and solitude.
I have had the being alone part way too much. My family had set me on a shelf to gather dust, at least until Winn came along. He and I are in love with stretching out on a quilt under the big pecan trees that shade the backyard. Maybe I am just rediscovering these pleasures, as I try to introduce him to them.
Anyway, it really washed over me, as we were driving down the lane. I felt all those chills of mornings at the end of the tobacco rows, waiting for the menfolk on the priming crew to fill my first sleigh of the day, for the haul to the barn.
Realized that for way too long, I have felt " stuck in the country", not happy being boxed in and sidelined. Here, I may just be opening a gate and snookering a ton and a half of horseflesh into following the cookie sack, but at least I am outdoors and soaking in the
beauty around me.
Slow learner. Wish I had figured this out ten years ago. Glad I know now. Clicking my ruby slippers and enjoying my own backyard today!
