I know, this seems to be a recurrent theme. The fact is that we live on 20+ acres and our neighbors are on mostly equivalent sized parcels…population density is extremely low. Yes our challenges are increased due to not being here all the time with Tom’s current, remote job, however, the challenges would exist anyway. The challenges change with each season but summer is currently on the menu.
The most obvious issue we have is fire danger. What should be a time when we enjoy being outside turns into a waiting game to see if we can make it through the summer with a fire…so far we’ve only had one small a few years ago. That being said, our house isn’t high enough in elevation to typically have thunderstorm danger…as we saw a couple weeks ago, though, the cabin is in that sort of danger!
Animals…the mice seem to vacate the attic this time of year (likely too hot) but in exchange we get lizards in the garage…oh, and they’ve made it in the house a few times. Trust me, they are NOT easy to catch once in the house. After 6 years, I still get startled when I go out in the garage and you hear things running from you. The foxes denning nearby are covered in another post…haven’t seen much of them lately but did see one of the pups about a week ago…they’re getting big!
Birds…the wild turkeys aren’t seen as often this time of year but the quail have recently hatched their litter, gaggle, herd…whatever quail families are called. Just tonight while washing my mtn bikes, the dogs nearly took out a family. After lots of squawking (from me and the quail) I got the dogs a safe distance with no casualties…phew!
Insects…after getting a new mattress/box spring delivered last week and temporarily setting things up until our bed arrives, I discover a trail of ants cruising the baseboard in our bedroom. What the hell? No food, nothing to attract them. A few blasts of Raid seems to have kept them at Bay. Side note: I can’t stand using chemicals for this stuff and found a cool, enviro friendly spray at Home Depot…mix of rosemary and cinnamon oil…works awesome!
Plants…yes, even the plants get in on the action. After a spring of trimming back grasses, there are always plants that dry out and have lovely burrs or prickers. We won’t even get into the poison oak here as that could be a whole post in itself. The burrs and foxtails have a particular affinity for McKinley’s velcro fur…every time that dog goes outside, she comes back in with the whole forest stuck to her paws, head, etc., which in turn finds their way into dog beds, area rugs, etc. Even the vacuum struggles to pick these things up. Oh, and even if the dogs don’t get into them, we manage too…socks also seem to be a magnet.
I have countless other examples I could mention and on occasion try to remember what it was like to live in a suburb, where the nature challenges are inherently less…and when I remember, I smile…so happy to be here…
