We live in the middle of nowhere...I knew this before, but yesterday, the point was really driven home. There is a 25 mile stretch of highway between the animal shelter and my house and I guess I was a bit more observant than usual as I drove along. I passed about 15 vehicles parked in front yards which were for sale by owner, including a huge pontoon boat and not one, but two old hearses. (The hearses weren't even for sale by the same person, they were a few miles apart...what are the odds?) I also drove past a couple of "Deer Processing" signs, and a very perplexing "Meat Madness" sign--I probably don't want to find out what that means! I passed a few 4 wheelers racing through the ditches on the side of the road, but most disturbing was the guy on a dirtbike...he was wearing protective safety gear and a helmet as he sped through the fields, but the chubby, bald baby who was balanced on his lap was not! I arrived home just in time to see the neighbors trussing a whole dead pig to a spit in preperation for today's pig roast. I'm really not one of those preachy, judgmental vegetarians, but seeing a whole animal like that, ears and snout and all, was too much for me--the sight of it made me cry a bit. It's a lot easier to watch someone eat a hamburger, with its total lack of facial features!
There are some benefits to living in such a remote area, though. At night there are no city lights competing with the starlight, so the sky is all twinkly and beautiful. We routinely see deer, rabbits, ducks, geese, squirrels and tons of songbirds in our yard. There is almost no traffic on our road (although I fear that the ratio of drunk drivers to sober drivers may be disproportionately high in this area!) And there are lots of gorgeous things growing in our yard, like pears:
And roses:
And these pretty red things:
And apples:
And these beautiful blue things:
And these lovely yellow things:
And these attractive pink things:
Hmm, when I lived in Norway, I used to blame my ignorance of the flora on the fact that I had never seen these strange Arctic plants before...now I don't have an excuse. Beyond the basic roses, tulips and dandelions, I really don't know what anything is. But they're beautiful to see, and all the flowers and the stars and the wildlife and the amazing lake views more than make up for the, ahem, quirks of rural life!
And roses:
And these pretty red things:
And apples:
And these beautiful blue things:
And these lovely yellow things:
And these attractive pink things:
5 comments:
Love your garden with the fruits and the beautiful flowers, the red thing are Lillies, the yellow thing are Gaillardia, the pink are Heklenium and the purple are called Veronica. They are all perennials which are enjoyed year after year. Wish I had those in Florida.
Maria
That list of things sounds disturbing even to a convinced non-vegetarian!!
Your garden and house by the lake sounds like something out of a dream. And isn't having fruit growing in the garden just wonderful?? We've just made 15 kg of peach jam and we're wondering what to do with it all (neighbours having had their share already :) So far I've made a Peach jam pie...
I do eat meat, but I refuse to eat spit cooked meat. Barbaric, i am sure that sounds very hypercritical but I said it. I wish I could be like you, I have said it before. Your home sounds glorious
Gorgeous pictures, Emily. Your garden is really blooming right now! And your pear tree looks so healthy, much better than the ancient, neglected sample in our yard. We pruned it in the winter and it is looking better now than it did last summer but there is some doubt it will produce fruit.
Was it a baby pig? I'm okay with the spit-roast thing unless it's a very small pig. That just seems wrong.
Funny description of your rural area. I haven't seen anyone driving a hearse as personal transportation since the early 70s... Do you sometimes feel like you live in The Land That Time Forgot? ;-)
Astrid, if I lived closer, I'd definitely take some of that peach jam off your hands! :-)
Maria, thanks for telling me all the plant names! I'm very glad to hear they're all perennial!
Astrid, mmm, peaches sound wonderful. Lucky you!
Joanne, I'm a hypocrite too, I have a hard time eating a whole fish or lobster, but I'll dive right into seafood that can't stare up at me from the plate!
Michele, yes, this is the land that time forgot! We found a restaurant down the road which serves $1.50 pints of beer, fantastic seafood dinners for under $10, and oh so many patrons sporting mullets!
Emily
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