I have been back at the lake for two weeks and am on the other side of jet lag and mostly caught up with the gardening and yard work. These are simple tasks but to avoid too much body pain means I must pace myself so it takes a few weeks to get the job/s done. After so much exposure to different places and life styles on our recent trip, I am reminded, once again, how good life is here in NE South Dakota. We are “lucky ducks” to enjoy living in this area and this week I will share some of the things I most enjoy about living here seasonally.
Life is simpler in rural areas where choices might be limited but everything you need is still available locally. I appreciate a life where my goings and comings to and from about a dozen places can be done in a day within a 15 mile radius leaving more time for rest and relaxation. One gets to know who they are doing business with which leads to pro-action and provides a feeling of confidence.
I love the silence in rural areas which seems larger than life after traveling to busy cities and crowded airports. I feel like I can actually breathe here which is good for the soul. At the same time, I have numerous area neighbors that have become friends over time and who I look forward to seeing and catching up with after the long winter and cold spring. I popped into both next door neighbor’s houses/yards over the holiday weekend to see and catch up with their visiting relatives and delivered homemade asparagus soup to both this weekend. Although I am home alone, having left Paul in Europe for a while longer, I feel a strong sense of belonging and community.
I love the birds and waterfowl all around me. My robin is, once again, tending to her first clutch of chicks in the nest on top of the grapevine wreath hanging on my front porch. The bright orange orioles are busy lapping up grape jelly in the caged bird feeder hung outside the window in my reading nook. The martins are busy in their bird houses set on tall poles in both my neighbor’s yards. Also, there are numerous small black birds flying together in unison high across the lake while the low flying pelicans skim the lake surface as they fly to and from their resting place on the nearby island. I have already seen a few geese shepherding their goslings across the fields and roads. I also love the quickly changing often dramatic weather that comes through this part of the country. Watching the clouds move across the skies during bright sunny days and dark menacing storm days as well is worthy of time spent in nature from the safety of my screened porch of course.
I must also mention my love of our late spring/early summer blooming perennials including lilacs, irises and peonies which don’t grow just anywhere as they require cold winter temperatures to do their thing in the spring. In closing and through my “new lens” I feel blessed to live in and enjoy retirement life here. Now it is back to conquering the crabgrass in my perennial bed and getting the plumber out to fix a loose kitchen faucet this week.