Here are some things I’ve learned in the country.

Horses and other animals graze peacefully and make for idyllic photos.

You can use large old tires from farming equipment and add some dirt and wild flower seed and enjoy a wild tire garden.

You can’t take having a store close by for granted in the country. For our kids the closest is just 7 miles away, though. Vegetable gardens are the best for having fresh outside your door produce. So far we’ve enjoyed potatoes, squash, green beans. Zucchini bread is just out of the oven. Later today we’ll have tomatoes and lettuce from the garden on our hamburgers. Cucumbers the size of small baseball bats were picked today.

Having a chicken coop and chickens that lay eggs everyday is a bonus. A rooster can be annoying, though. Yep, that rooster is still alive and cock a doodle doing. You don’t need a rooster to get eggs from the chickens and roosters can get real mean. Even though you think you just purchased birds with no rooster you can be surprised as time goes by. Your days are numbered spotty! The other thing I found out about chickens is that skunks find them to be a delicacy. Our kids don’t put egg shells in their compost pile because they don’t want to attract skunks to their property. A friend of our kids just had several of his chickens killed and eaten by skunks.

There are lots of wasps, hornets, mosquitoes and other flying things in the country. It’s best to get rid of nests in the winter time.

There is plenty of room for dogs in the country. They make for good companions. They do shed just as much in the country as in the city, though.

Birds in numbers like to hang out together. Sometimes they all take off at the same time and that’s a sight.

You have to be extra cautious when driving in the county because you never know what you’ll encounter along the way. These turkeys took to flight as I approached. You need to be aware and watch for deer and other wildlife because car v. animal never goes well for the humans or the animals. We always crack up at the road signs that say “Watch for Deer next 10 miles” How do they know the deer will stay within that 10 mile area?

Are you a city mouse or a country mouse?