Thank God I'm a Country Girl

I remembered today why I wanted to move out to the country.

I went for a bike ride today for about an hour. I rode through the country roads and enjoyed the scenes. The farm houses with acres of land, the birds, the squirrels. At one point I stopped beside the river and listened to gently roll across the rocks. I remembered why that was my favorite sound.

I kept riding through the dirt roads, waving at everyone who came past. Country folk don't know how to be rude.

At one point I stopped in the park beside the cemetary. The city had built a wooden landing for people to put their canoes in. I walked down the wooden stairs and came across a curious gardner snake. I watched him and he watched me. I moved a little closer for a better view and he jumped up on his back and slid away. I sat down at the other side of the landing and sat very still. It wasn't long before the wildlife accepted that I was there and went back to their daily activities. I watched a tiny snapping turtle hide at the bottom of the river. I watched him as he blended in with the bottom and waiting for it to be safe. Slowly, he drifted to the surface, moving his little legs here and there until he got to surface and his head broke the surface of the water. Ever so slowly, like time stood still, he swam over to a nearby rock where he laid his head on the rock and the rest of his body floated in the water. While watching the snapping turtle, I looked down at my feet and in the water was that ever so curious gardner snake. As soon as we made eye contact he quickly swam under the water and swam to bank. I smiled and watched as he disappeared into the weeds.

After awhile, I felt it was time to go so I got back on my bike and started riding. I got to the bride that goes over the river and I saw something in the weeds below. i stopped and noticed a fawn, full of spots, snacking on the wildlife that gross beside the river. I smiled and watched as cars passed by me. The fawn eventually filled up and then walked away.

I took a different path home that took me across even more farms and fields. At one point I looked across this wheat field and as far as the eye could see was wildlife: fields, trees. It was gorgous and peaceful. No houses. No people. Just nature.

I started to feel sad for all the land and beauty that our populations has taken away from the earth. There are so few people in this world who has seen the view I saw. I wish everyone could experience what I just did. The feeling that there is a bigger world out there than our own little insignificant lives. We're been so disconnected from the natural world but it's so easy to connect with it again.

I love my life.