We love living in the country. To us it's pleasure is beyond explanation. We weren't sure when we looked at the little cottage. We had lived by the beach for so many years and had walked there many a morning. There is something so relaxing listening to the rhythm of the waves, it's continuous sound soothing whatever ails you. We wondered if we would miss it just a little too much. But, we decided to take a chance because we wanted to be somewhere a little close to both of our children. Our son lives in Grover Beach, 45 minutes north and our daughter lived in Santa Barbara 45 minutes to the south. So this seemed like the logical place.
After Bob had made sure that we could get at least satellite television and I had found out that Costco was only 17 miles away, we took the plunge and have never looked back. The wonderful wildlife and the peaceful sound of the wind through the huge oak trees and the creek running on the other side of the road are equally as peaceful and soul soothing as the beach. Perhaps even more so because there are so few people to contend with. For this time in our lives it was one of life's nearly accidental life altering happenings. One you reflect on and softly "Ahhhhh."
One of the few drawbacks is the preparations that must be done for fire season. We knew when we moved here that there were going to be issues. Response time for ambulance and fire were two of the more important. Another is making lists to avoid forgetting something when we make the trek to town. I can assure you we never waste left-overs. This far out we don't go to dinner on the spur of the moment like we did living in town. Sometimes Bob will say, "How about I take you to dinner tonight." Now, about 9 a.m. that sounds like a grand idea. The closer it gets to 4 p.m. though I usually say, "How about I cook, I'm pooped." I feel good he asked and he feels good I decline.
The last few days we have been (mostly Bob and our son, Bud) clearing the large meadow above the house of brush and weeds. An absolute annual necessity! We had been hauling and raking and it was really warm so I made us some lemonade. We were sitting on the hill relaxing for a few minutes watching Maggie down on the driveway. She wears her collar for the invisible fence all of the time. It usually keeps her contained with an audible beep and mild shock as she nears the wire. But, bless her heart, she had watched us relax as long as she could. The next thing we knew she had bolted through the air and across the wire, beeping and getting shocked all the way. There she was happy and content sitting between us chewing some of Bob's ice.
We finished our lemonade and raked a little more and decided to call it a day. After we descended the hill, I was standing at the front door calling her. She sat and looked. I rattled her treat jar. She sat and looked. Bob called. She sat and looked. I tried the treat jar again. Still nothing. "Watch this" Bob said. "Get in the car." We both went to the car and opened our doors. We didn't even have to say a word. She bolted through that invisible fence and was in the car in a matter of seconds. We all have our price. Her reward was a trip in the car to the mailbox. We didn't have the heart to disappoint her.
So, yes, living in the country is one of the best moves we have ever made. Relaxing and enjoying each other's company and deriving more pleasure than I could ever have imagined from one silly little Cocker Spaniel named Maggie.
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