The last week of September 2016 my family and I moved to rural Michigan. It was a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl. I grew up in Detroit and then lived most all of my life in the suburbs of Detroit, just a few miles from freeways and blocks from convenience stores. We’d giggle at the treat of a sporadic duck that would make its way down the street after a rainstorm and we fed the squirrels and occasional chipmunk. Ran out of toilet paper? No problem, get to Target and back within 15 minutes. Want a Slurpee from 7-11? Let’s walk there. Too tired to get gas for the car but on empty? Will just get it in the morning before work. Things have since had to change.
None of us were prepared for country life. We weren’t prepared for fall time in the country. I’ve never seen so many leaves in my life. We weren’t prepared for winter in the country. Gravel roads and ice are a scary combination. And let me tell you about spring in the country!
Ducks showed up on our backyard pond and this made us giddy. Except when Lucy, our Shiba Inu, decided to pull at the male’s tail feathers. They’ve since grown back, and the ducks still call our pond their home, thankfully. They are quite harmless, actually, and we look forward to their silly antics. After the ducks came the opossum. The one possum decided to drink all the pop on our back porch. He (honestly, we don’t know if it is a he or a she) pierced through the Vernor’s and drank each and every one before moving on to the Coca Cola. So we’ve decided to name this one Vern. Vern has a girlfriend (boyfriend?) that sometimes shows up too, and another friend. Each have their own look and their own personality as well. Who knew? So far they’ve been harmless, and since they eat ticks and other bugs we are keeping them around. Kind of a make friends with the enemy thing. Then came the raccoons. And more raccoons. And coyotes. And more raccoons. And a stray cat every so often. Then I swear I saw a bear in my front yard. No, I don’t drink. And the turkeys. Lots of turkeys who are fun to watch but they don’t much care about where they walk so I have a bunch of trampled on tulips. Oh, and the chipmunks found their way into our crawlspace and despite trying to trap them I instead found them chasing one another around the trap. Did I mention the raccoons? This weekend mommy robin decided to build a nest in my dad’s new patio umbrella and dive bomb the dogs and any humans that came nearby.
We were warned that most people hated gravel roads. Other than a dirty house, a dirty car, and huge pot holes after it rains, the gravel roads are fine, not much a problem at all really. Unless you want to go for a walk, then being stoned takes on a whole new definition.
I thought the country life was going to be serene and peaceful, and it would be except for the loud songs of the toads and frogs, the gobbles of the turkeys, the neighing of the neighbor’s horses, and the brays of the other neighbor’s donkeys in our backyard (that sound like a squeaky old rusted fence being opened and shut). Oh, did I mention the raccoons? They have a special scream when they fight. And did you know that roosters don’t just crow in the morning? They also crow at midnight. And 2 am. And 4 am too. The birds are also pretty excited it’s spring time so they’ve been sharing in their excitement by serenading us at 3 am. Every morning.
There’s mice. Thankfully outside (fingers crossed). And eagles, the biggest crows I’ve ever seen, and hawks (that like the mice). There’s skunks that seem to like to hang with Vern (the opossum), and there’s spiders, bugs I’ve never seen before, and bats. And mosquitoes. Holy moly are there mosquitoes. These special bugs love to attack your eyes. Yes, your eyes. They do have these things called mosquito dunks that you can get to put in your ponds and stagnant water sources. I thought at first they were mosquito ducks – like little bathtub ducks with the mosquito stuff in it. I was really disappointed. There’s snakes. They also like the mice. A red fox and a peacock shows up every once in awhile too, along with squirrels, moles, rabbits, groundhogs, deer, owls, and more.
The neighbors visit one another by horse, golf cart, 3 wheeler, and various other utility vehicles. Now my my dad and husband are determined we need something like that too. Most neighbors are great. Many just want to be left alone. Others want to know your business, and most do know your business. But this is most neighborhoods, right?
Well water is well…smelly, as in rotten egg smelly. Not all the time, but some of the time. My husband likes the taste, but the rest of us opted for a water cooler. There’s rust in the sinks, lots of scrubbing, salt to buy for the water softener, and the toilets don’t flush like they do in the city (hello, septic system). We also have a boiler, which is a new animal all on its own. And only half the house is air conditioned. Stay tuned for the summer update.
Ran out of toilet paper? Or need a tomato for your tacos? I’ll see in you 45 minutes. And your pizza will be cold when you get it home. Want it delivered? Not happening. There’s no fast food here. And if you are out and about and your gas tank looks empty – fill it up. Planning and staying organized is key. Amazon loves me, and so does the post office. Now, we do have shopping nearby, just not all shopping and it’s not as convenient. There’s also the matter of the night in the country. It’s dark. I mean real dark and things dart out at you in the dark. Not ghosts, more like deer. The speed limit around here is – oh, heck, I don’t even know because it’s fast and even if you are doing the speed you should need to go 15 mph over that or else you will be passed by crazy motorcyclists who forget that deer dart out in front of you.
Wild geraniums, lilacs, and the most beautiful flowering trees grow all around. We are surrounded by water, and more water, which means more mosquitoes. The night air smells of campfires as the bats fly overhead and munch on, yep, you guessed it, mosquitoes.
We’ve only been in our country house less than 8 months, and with all of our crazy and unexpected adventures, it’s everything I ever wanted. Is country life the simple life? Hardly, but when I get a minute to sit out on the deck and look at thousands of acres of land (that I don’t have to mow or care for), or sit on the porch swing and admire the brightly colored birds, from hummingbirds to bright orange orioles, to yellow finches and chickadees that feed out of your hand, the aches and pains are worth every moment.
Summer will have its own experiences, but in the meantime I will savor each first season as I’ve never seen it before.
Believe,
Kristy Robinett
www.kristyrobinett.com
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