my happy place

It's been almost two months since we moved and I can only hope that every house from now on is as peaceful as this one.

Hubby put a bird feeder in the middle of the front yard (at my request) and we have tried several different food items to see if there are preferences for any of the birds. So far, all the birds have eaten all that we put out! The black birds eat side by side with the sparrows and finches; the starlings/grackles and waxeyes and thrushes eat together with no problems. It's marvelous to watch. The occasional, tiny rifleman shows up for a meal but keeps its distance.

There is a pair of fantails that live in this huge bushy, overgrown thingy in the yard. At first I thought it was a tree that had been taken over by a vine or something and I had planned to dissect it in the summertime, but on closer inspection, I see that it's not--I don't know what it is. The fantails eat bugs, so the 'thing' can stay as it is.

A pair of swallows briefly stopped by for a rest on one of the power lines the other day which surprised me. I love to watch them drop like stones from the sky before they pull up at the last moment and fly off. And watching the plovers protecting their nests from the one hawk that haunts these parts is a bit loud but it's still an amazing air battle to watch.

I look forward to getting some photos of all these gorgeous creatures, as most of the birds are very comfortable in the strange but interesting trees that are against the fence. It appears that some of them might be making nests on the paddock side.

The only traffic past the front gate is milk tankers to collect from the cows and very occasional trucks for various farm things (whatever those are), but I just hear a slight noise as they slow down to make a 90-degree turn to enter the farm.

And then there is the rumble of the trains across the paddocks. At the city crossings a few miles kms away, they are accompanied by the toots of the horn but that is so distant, I don't hear it if I'm concentrating on something else. The amount of cars, of course, determines the amount of rumble and I find myself guessing how long the trains are and which way they are going.

All in all, I will enjoy being here for as long as  it lasts.

country living

I was awakened in the night by what I thought was the cat spazzing out and running through the house like a tornado, as she is prone to do from time to time. When I got up the next morning, there was a dead rabbit in the kitchen floor. Ick. But, I couldn't help but be impressed at her hunting skills.

While Hubby and I were getting our coffee, he came up with the idea of putting the dead body out to lure our neighborhood hawks close enough to photograph. I was impressed with his thinking. It beats my original thought of luring them by spearing a pork chop on a stick out in the garden.

Anyway, it worked like a charm! Click here to see the shots on my photoblog.

A giggly idea

I am so enjoying the peace and quiet and very darkness of living away from any urban setting, but after sundown, you can't  see your hand before your face without some light. Well, I heard a bit of scurrying the other day from Hubby and wondered what he was up to. I figured he'd tell me in his own time and, eventually, he led me to the hallway where he had strung up some Christmas twinkle  what are referred to here as 'faery lights' along the hallway!  

Yes, I giggled out loud when I saw them on! He put them on the same wall as the bedroom door so they just sort of glow when we're in bed and the cat decides to come in. 

made with photoscape animated gif maker

I am impressed, once again, at what goes on in that mind of his. Thanks, Hubby!

Stepping back in time

When we moved to this house, it seems to me that we took a step forward and went back in time. The step forward was getting away from feeling uncomfortable in our own home--no direct sunlight except 2 hours before dusk, yapping little dogs, howling big dogs, music and noises through our thin walls, fences with prying eyes, foot traffic past the house that didn't make sense. For the record, we only moved there because we were put in a huge, immediate financial bind. It was an affordable roof over our heads and I am grateful for that.

The step back in time is a whole 'nother story! The house is probably 60 years old or more, but it's solid. The windows are modern (most of them, anyway) and the sun can actually shine into them all day long.

The only real 'noise' is a train in the distance several times a day, occasional tractors and other farm vehicles, the wind whistling through the hills, cows lowing now and then and birds chirping in the trees and fields. Such wonderful rural bliss!

Being that we don't live within any city limits, our mailing address is 'RD'--rural delivery--which usually brings to mind the old show 'Mayberry RFD' whenever I see it on an envelope. (So now you can think of me when you watch the old shows!) And, for the first time since I've been here, I have to have a night light on for my nighttime potty runs. It's pitch black without it. I love it.

We have a fireplace for heat in the living room lounge which shares a wall with our bedroom so we get the maximum use of it. Hubby taught me how to tend it when I need it during the day--hey, I was brought up outside Chicago, we had central heat--and it certainly saves on the power bill. I'm kinda enjoying keeping it going during the day and watching it at night. I can't imagine having it as the only heat source, but I guess you'd get used to it. Frankly, I think I'd have to sleep beside the fire in winter if that's all the heat there was!

The land agent told us that we can pay for a 'rubbish run' if we need it, but I don't think we will. I'm very happy to have the compost, recycle and trash burn stuff all organized separately. The only other thing to consider is cans that are not aluminum but the farm-share managers take care of that.

As I mentioned before, we (by that I mean Hubby) are getting bulbs planted for some springtime color. I can't wait! It's so nice to be able to work, or even walk, in the yard garden without feeling someone is watching. Sometimes, there are birds watching and an occasional rabbit, but that's ok. I imagine we will spend many a relaxing moment outside and planning for the next season of color!

Hubby and I are both quite content here. It's only 4 km to work for him. I can see us being here until he gets promoted to another part of the country.