Living in the Country

I think I know now why people always have such a serious expression on their faces in old pictures. It's hard work to live out in the country! Along with that panicky feeling that whenever you pass a grocery store, you should stop and buy everything because it might be your last chance, there is a great sense of responsibility that comes with this land. There is just so much that needs to be done. Yesterday I spent the day trimming trees. Not with a little pruning shears but on top of a ladder with a chainsaw. When we stopped, there was a pile of brush 14 feet high and a chance for a bonfire with friends in the not so distant future I surmise. I think I had almost forgotten that sense of accomplishment combined with every muscle in my body aching that makes me feel alive again and happy to be living in the country. Once you experience country life, It can always draw you back with it's windy days and the smell of soil. I'm beginning to believe that I am a lifer.