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The biggest advantage to rural living is the peace and tranquility. When I look out my door I see Mockingbirds, Meadow Larks, blue skies and slightly cleaner air. I have experienced true culture shock moving from the city to a rural area about 1500 miles from where I was born and raised.

However there are trade offs for living in a rural area, for instance the closest Walmart is twenty nine miles away, there is a grocery store but it has its limits, it also has a fantastic butcher, not a meat cutter but a true butcher. I can get fresh chickens which is certainly a plus, believe it or not you can tell the difference between fresh and store boughten chicken.

When it rains it pours, the drainage ditches fill to capacity, then overflow into the driveway. That however has never deterred our getting into the driveway. However it does mean that if the vehicle slips there is always the tow truck and money out of pocket.

Rural life is not for the feint of heart, especially in Texas where there are Rattlesnakes and children who do not know a rattler from a Glossy snake. Try explaining to a grandchild the difference, starting with the shape of the head, then convincing the child that he has found a glossy snake not a rattler. He is disappointed you are relieved I speak from experience.

There is nothing like taking a quiet reflective walk on a cool autumn evening in rural America. The gentle breeze blowing, the sounds of the last locusts and crickets. The distinct smell of the farm animals in the air. All of this is part and parcel of rural life. When I walk out my door I am greeted by bleating goats, who are usually looking for dinner, however if I ignore them there are several escapees that I have chased more than once. My oldest daughter raises Boer Goats, which are meat goats. Would I like to try cabrito, which is goat meat no I don't think so. Besides are making friends with the goats I don't think I would have the heart to eat them. Although the one billy goat I might have thought about it. Old Jubal was a miserable old billy goat that chased me more than once out of his pen and out of the barn!

Would I ever move back to the city? No, I enjoy rural living to much. I enjoy hearing the birds and goats. I enjoy the slightly cleaner air. The John Denver song: "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" or in my case Country Girl certainly applies here. I am very thankful that I live in a rural area and am able to enjoy the beauty that can only be had when there is land between you and your neighbor. Where vegetables, cotton, and maze are visible, where animals still roam free. Where you have to wait while a vulture eats his meal in the middle of the road. That my friend is rural living.

Learn more about this author, Suzanne Marsh.
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