Random Thoughts on Country Life

I know it’s not the best picture…it’s hard to get aerial flight captured with a camera phone, but Doug tried anyway. I was too mesmerized to go inside for the real camera until shortly before the bird flew away.

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We walked outside around lunchtime, and the kids noticed a bird of prey flying in circles over the field just across the street. They asked if it was an eagle; thinking the bird we were watching was a high-flying bird, Doug and I both quickly answered by saying that it was probably just a hawk. Immediately, we doubted our answer. Sure enough, as the bird turned, we realized it was flying much lower than we’d previously thought. Which meant it was much bigger than we’d normally thought. Then it turned again, and we saw the white head and tail. Oh how breathtakingly glorious! A bald eagle, flying right over our town, right over our neighbor’s house and yard! We watched for several minutes as the eagle circled looking for prey before flying off to the northeast. Wow.

Sometimes it can be annoying living so far away from a “real” city, but then we have days like today.

To enjoy the sunshine, we take family walks through town, fanning out across the road until a car comes by. We take turns kicking at a stone down the road, seeing how far we can kick a single stone before it disappears into the grass.

Bikes with fresh air in the tires can be ridden up and down the gravel road by our house.

The perfect climbing tree that’s planted just on the edge of the neighbor’s yard can be freely climbed.

We can’t walk to the general store or post office without running into someone to talk to, whether we know them or not.

It’s okay to walk through town in our yard or paint clothes on a nice afternoon because nine times out of ten, everyone we meet will be wearing theirs, too.

We actually can enjoy a nice Saturday afternoon at home because it’s a big deal to get anywhere else. It takes intentionality, and it’s easier to intentionally stay home.

And then there’s that eagle.

Yes, today was a nice day to live in a small town.

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