The other day, my man scanned UnitedCountry.com for homes and land across America. He found something far away that sounded fabulous, read the description, and we said, “Oh, that would be great,” then he found another even farther away and it sounded so very nice, too, and we said, “Oh, that would be great,” and so on. We did this for quite a while. We do this often.
As he read yet another description of an even more fabulous place, I thought, why are we never happy where we are? I lost my entire family, except one brother who parked himself in California and never saw this state as a resident anyway, to a grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence thing. They’re all now many, many miles away, and I’m sort of left wondering why it’s so much dandier there (blog it, y’all!).
Two women looked through prison bars.
a quote in Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow
One saw mud, the other saw stars.
The mud:
Our area has mostly flat land. There are no mountains and very few hills from which to view anything. The forests are full of tangly vines (think kudzu) and gnarled branches, making them nearly impassible. There is a very thin 1/4″ of topsoil, meaning we’re really just living on sand, and gardening is tough. We have very humid, very hot summers. The sun is hot here. Very hot. And we have hurricanes. Or at least the threat of them. Some people complain of a lack of seasons. There is no snow, that’s for sure. We have the dreaded fireants in every yard. They hurt. Oh, and we have cockroaches. Not the invading-the-house kind, but the come-into-the-house-occasionally kind that scares you crazy because they are 2-3 inches long. And some fly.
The stars:
Sigh, our beaches: pure white sand, and emerald waters. Close proximity to those beaches might mean an occasional hurricane, but it – and the flat land – means we get sea breezes miles inland. Lemons, bananas, and oranges grow well in sandy soil. Our gardens produce year-round, with enough soil amendments. We have birds year-round, too, the prettiest during winter. Winter? Yes, we have our winter, which is cool, not cold. The sun shines almost every day, through blue skies. We have miles upon miles of bayous, creeks, rivers, inlets, lagoons, bays, and gulfs to explore. Much of the area is preserved, so there are nature trails, forests, and beach preserves in all directions.
I didn’t even get around to mentioning the people or the cities, but I could do the mud and stars on both of those subjects, too. Do you get what I mean? It’s all perspective.
Thinking all this over, I finally said to my man, “What if. What if we could find a place within a half hour of the beach, yet nestled between two mid-sized American cities with their arts and cultural centers and deep history? What if it had enough tourism to keep the shopping and entertainment options great, yet it also had lots of nature preserves? What if the weather was mild and we could garden all year? Oh! And what if the house was not fancy, but comfortable enough, and situated on a river?!”
He sent me his smirk. The one that makes me giggle. But I knew that he got it. He knew I was describing home.
You’ll find stars or mud in any place because you’ll find whichever one you’re looking for.
Your pictures are beautiful! Where I live isn’t as lovely… except for maybe the beach (Lake Michigan). I’ll see what I can come up with!
Steph
DCRMom mentioned your carnival and I had a little post I wrote late last summer that I think fit the bill pretty well. Your pictures were so lovely – thanks for sharing and for the chance to share one reason I love my little prairie home away from home. Have a great weekend!
Hope you guys enjoy learning a little bit about Idaho!
I should have added a photo credit: our 10yo daughter shot the sunset photo with her point-and-click Fujifilm camera.
Pretty good, isn’t it? I didn’t even photoshop it. 🙂
What a neat idea – I love seeing pictures of different parts of the country that I might not see otherwise. Thanks!
Great idea – I am up at our cottage this weekend, and will take some pics. Won’t be “home” till next week, but will take more there too. First time here, I’ll be back 🙂
This looks like an awesome meme. I want to join in too. (alas I am at work, but I’ll try to do it soon when I am at home). For now I’ll just go see other people’s parts of the world. Thanks for doing this. I love the alligators you did last time.
Carol
It’s me. I’m back. Was so inspired by you post, I went for a very short walk and snapped a few photos around our cottage. This has been a great idea, and hope you will continue doing this on a regular basis. My post is now up, and I have added my link.
Thanks 🙂
Dad helped me get the pictures in…..yes, Katie would love to take you there. It is her favorite place!!! The mountains up there remind us of Papua New Guinea!! Love you
Came her via JanMary. Beautiful pictures! You live in a wonderful place! It’s true what you say though, that we always figure we’d be happier elsewhere. I think this is a great way to seek out and enjoy the things that make our own areas special ~ a way of practising thankfulness and contentment. Quite brilliant, actually! One of my bloggy friends has started “Tour Tuesdays” where she shows photos of what she sees in her area; I’ll have to tell her about this carnival.
I know I am late… just found out about this! I have started a “Tour Tuesday” on my blog… I am “nosy” about where/how everyone lives! I LOVE floor plans.
Have a great day!
Heather
PS>.. I found out about this from Valley Girl
http://swanvalleytammi.blogspot.com/
Just found your blog when I googled “the other saw stars.” Other than the extremely cold winter we’re having, I love my little heaven on earth, http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com
Hope you’ll visit!