It’s no secret, living out in the country has it’s many differences from the city. Some of these things I have never been exposed to or experienced before, so it has made for an interesting first couple of months out here. I thought I would share the good, the bad and the interesting of all the new things I have gotten to see since we have lived at the farm.

1. The thing that routinely sticks out in my mind is the diet of our dog, Lucy. While she has her dog food, I often watch her hunt down her lunch right outside of our window. Whether she catch a bird, chase down a bunny, find a nest of baby coons or leap to catch a squirrel up in a tree, she gets her lunch somehow. It’s awful, disgusting and exhilarating all at the same time. The first time I watched her catch and tear apart a bunny I threw up (literally, my prego stomach couldn’t handle it). I have never seen so many animals eaten by one dog and am always amazed that she eats every last piece, bones and all. It’s so disturbing.

2. Speaking of Lucy, she also happens to be our garbage disposal. Since we don’t actually HAVE a disposal in our sink, we bring all of our scraps (raw or cooked), leftovers and bones out and lay them by the wash house for her to eat. I am constantly amazed how fast she gobbles that stuff down. The only thing I’ve ever seen her not eat is my Quinoa.

3. I have never in my life seen a starry night like I have out at the farm. The stars are so bright, so vivid! And they seem to go on forever. Every clear night when I look up at the stars, I’m constantly amazed at the creativity and overall goodness of God and His sovereignty.

4. When the wind blows just the right way out of the South, you can get a good whiff of our neighbor’s hog farm. And when the wind is even stronger out of the South, you can get the combo whiff of the hog farm AND the feed lot (AKA, the “Milford Welcoming Committee” as I like to call them). I personally don’t mind the smell too much, to me it means that everything is thawing out and Spring is right around the corner.

5. I can’t tell you how many animals I have hit (more like obliterated) with my van. I probably hit at least 2 animals a week, no matter how hard I try to swerve out of the way. I swear, it’s like they try to get hit. I sobbed the first time I hit a squirrel (blaming that on the pregnancy hormones as well).

6. Coyote yips are the most obnoxious sound I’ve ever heard. And they like to yip and howl right outside of our back windows at night. Therefore, Lucy barks at them…all night.

7. On the other hand, the hum of the train that runs behind our house about every 15 minutes or so is so comforting at night. I never thought I would like it, but I’ve grown very accustomed to it.

8. People say the wind in town is bad…you have NO idea what the word “wind” means until you’ve been out in the country with no trees or buildings to break the gusts. Depending on which direction it’s coming from, Nora either, can’t move and falls backwards onto the ground or can run like lightening. And there is no point in doing my hair any day there is going to be wind. It’s a complete waste of time and product.

9. Since we don’t have our own washer and dryer in our apartment, we take our laundry into Eric’s folks place to use theirs. It’s kind of a pain when it’s super cold out, but it’s really not that bad. Except when it’s windy. There has been a time or two when I have gone running after a t-shirt that got whisked out of the basket or a loose sock. A couple of weeks ago, I looked over by the swing set and saw some bunched up cloth, thinking it was a hankie or towel. Nope, it was a pair of my underwear. Luckily, it wasn’t a pair of my cute, lacey VS skimpies. Instead, it was my Christmas penguin undeeze. We all had a good laugh.

10. Speaking of hankies, Eric now uses hankies like his dad does. Something I never thought I would have to put in my wash, but alas, I wash hankies now (I just try and not think about the fact that it’s a piece of cloth with dried up boogers and sweat in it).

11. Maybe it’s because I look for them, but I frequently find dead mice and moles in our lawn. They aren’t up by Kim and Sheila’s at all, but since we are so close to the back part of the property and the tree line, we have more of them around our house. I usually just call Lucy over and kick them at her and she eats them. Lucky for us, Nora hasn’t tried to pick one up yet. I’m sure it will happen someday. Shudder. Barf. Gag.

12. Nora has SO MUCH ROOM to run around and play! Not only does she love the swings set and trampoline, but she loves to run around the fields, ride the tractors and play in the rocks and dirt. That is probably one of my favorite parts of living here.

13. The Seward Wal-Mart is awful. I never thought I would say this, but I sure do miss our Wal-Mart back in Olathe. If you remember, sometime ask me about the lady who checked me out in line with the pink candy stuck on her fingers and teeth. It will give you a good laugh in the belly region.

14. It’s so quiet and peaceful out here. It makes me even that much more excited to build our house out by the pond and watch the sunrise with our coffee in the mornings.

15. My husband is the happiest I have ever seen him in his life. That, hands down, is the BEST thing about living here.

These are just a few things that I have encountered since moving to the country. I’m sure that there will be many more as the months and years go on. I hope this gave you a little bit of insight, and laughs, into our life!