Rural life - Boring?

Monek Marie
Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

When I had my one career I lived in cities. I walked away from that one job and returned to the country.

My work related friends would ask, "How can you live in the country - its boring." Boring? If I told half the stories of what happened around here they would lock up.

My one rooster one spring went from nice to total nasty. He broke the screen door off a smaller chicken pen and held the homestead hostage for 4 days. He would not attack me with this claws but would run into me and knock me on the ground. He was quite big. He could out run me too.

My one friend told me to get it drunk then I could catch it. Two thimble fulls worked and I caught him. But he still had a nasty attitude. I was thinking of chicken stew when my Amish friends came to fish in our back yard. They fished for a few hours but did not have the luck they wanted, so I told Andy if he could get that rooster out of the pen he could have it. You have heard the wild fish stories people tell, well this man went out to fish and came home with a massive chicken

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Comments

  • ltwickey
    ltwickey Posts: 369 ✭✭✭

    That is so funny and so true. I like to say, you can't make this crap up!!

    People look at me funny when I tell them where I plan on moving and doing with my life post-retirement!! They think I'm strange for wanting to get back to nature and solitude. They say the same as your friends, "won't you get bored?" I just laugh, growing up in rural SD, I know life is anything BUT boring out on the ranch/homestead.

    But, it is also good for the soul and overall sense of well-being.

    I'm glad country life is not for everyone, otherwise we wouldn't have enough "country" for everyone!!

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ltwickey I took a lot of grief when I walked away form my job in cities. Peace of mind was a lot more important to me than I life I had.

    I have more stories more lively than this and have thought about putting a book together, but they would probably lock me up.

    Country life is never boring and so much more enjoyable.

    I like your saying. So true!~

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @Denise Grant Very funny rooster story! I'm sure everyone living the rural lifestyle can relate and has similar stories.

    Most of our family live in the city and we get this "boredom" question a lot. Not so much from family anymore as they have visited us and know that our lives are very full. But when they have friends over when we are visiting, then the questions start to fly. "What do you do" is the big one as they cannot imagine life without malls, restaurants & bars, theatres & shows, golf, attractions, sporting events, etc. The last time we had an experience with family friends it was more like an interrogation. Where do you shop? Where do you get groceries? Where do you get gas? Do you have a bar or restaurant close by? Is there a hospital? What do you do for fun? Can you get a cab? Its difficult answering as they really cannot imagine some of the things we fill our lives with.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    We also uave our homestead outside a small rural village, which happens to be a tourist area. That really brings out the questions. There is one grocery store within a hundred miles and a couple of small stores more like convenience store. Three gas stations within about a twenty mile radius. If you want clothes other than a T-shirt or gloves it is a trek of about 80 miles to the nearest actual city. We choose to live off grid so that adds a whole separate set of questions. Many folks seem to think we are ready for padded cells and straight jackets. They don't understand we feel sorry for them living the way they do in the cities.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    And...it is a lot safer out in the country. People crammed into a tight space are often no different than rats. They will turn on their own and are stressed out in high population situations.

    In this time, you can also go for walks without hassle. Sure there might be wildlife, but at least you have an idea what to expect from them.

    Silence (country silence is not always quiet, but generally nature sounds) and darkness and being able to see the stars & northern lights at night...there are just some things that a city can't provide.

  • Lisa K
    Lisa K Posts: 1,933 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The thought of retiring in a city even one as small as the one I live in now is not appealing to me my retirement home will be in a rural area!

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Mary Linda Bittle, West Plains, Missouri LOL. Love that!~

    I have to admit I was a total misfit in the city. My co workers and college class members considered me odd. My idea of fun was going to the 100 acre park and spending the day. I never went to malls - too broke to buy anything so why torture yourself.

    I did go to sidewalk cafes and I volunteered a the George Eastman Museum. Loved that place.

    I was so stressed when I came home from the city and 20 hour work days my neck snapped from street for more than a year.

    I do miss museums and city night lights. (You could not see the litter and dust at night.)

    I did have a cool apt complex where there was a mini garden on top of the roof. It was my escape

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Oh, the stories I could tell......!

  • MaryRowe
    MaryRowe Posts: 736 ✭✭✭✭

    Living out on my homestead and commuting to work in the city for almost 30 years really took a toll--and left no doubt at all in my mind that I belonged out here on my land. The day I turned in those retirement papers I felt the greatest relief in my life.

    Besides all the things to do out here, and all the adventures with the critters, and the peace, security, sense of self-reliance, and all the other benefits of county life, I have come to realize there is no end to how much you can learn, and how much my little plot of land has to teach. I've been walking my little patch of woods for 30 years now, and yet every time I head out there I see something I've never seen before--a new plant or bug, a new animal behavior, maybe just the sunlight playing off a familiar tree and revealing colors in the bark I never saw before, but always something new. Nature is a vast storehouse of wonders. Man-made structures and environments can't come close.

  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    @Denise Grant I have lived basically all of my life in a rural community. My wife and I owned a General Store in the country for nearly 20 yrs. When we reminisce some of the goings on to our family and friends, wiping tears from our eyes from laughter, they suggest we should right a book! Travellers who came into our shop would often ask, “what do you do around here for entertainment “ we would wink and say “you’d be surprised”

    We’ve moved and retired since then and I still miss the comraderie and closeness we developed in that community. While we live in a semi rural area now and love where we live, it’s hard being the “newbies” and that sense of community still lingers.

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have lived most of my 60+ years in big cities; I now live on the edge of a small city and enjoying my space and fresh air.

    I listen to what my relatives have to say about excitement in their lives. I have added their experiences to my own and have drawn some philosophical conclusions:

    Good excitement is limited to new baby, new marriage, new house or new job. Maybe buying something counts too. Gardening and farming has its exciting moments too -- again ADDING something to your existence.

    Most excitement is related to bad news, like arguments, job problems, or other out of the normal happenings. The days are memorable but SUBTRACTING from your quality of life.

    Big cities have nice concerts, plays, etc., but most people don't take advantage often. The shopping options are a plus in cities. I guess it can be a plus that a person can stay anonymous in a big city.

    Big cities have many negatives like heavy traffic, lots of crime, crowded public spaces, pollution, and continuous stress in daily living.

    In my experience, city people don't get "bored" because they drown their brains in computer time, brainless TV or other time-wasting but stress reducing activities. I know I watched bad TV shows in the evening just to have something mindless to do after a long stressful day.

    Full disclosure: I am a serious "boring" person who would rather stay home and read a book or whatever instead of restaurant, party or bar-hopping like some family members.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    My nephew looked at me one day and said "I am so bored." I looked back and said" I would pay good money to be bored."

    @shllnzl Love your thoughts and I doubt you have ever been seriously boring. ;)

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Denise Grant Thanks, maybe this crowd wouldn't find me that boring. Some family members' eyes roll back when I talk about my herb garden, herbal medicine, etc.

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin

    ROFL! I saw that subject head and thought maybe it was a joke for a second there. I guess different kinds of people have different kinds of bored, but my husband and I often look at each other when something else non-boring happens around here and say, "Never a dull moment." I think one of the most fun things for me about living rural is that I have the space to experiment. I'll admit that there are a lot of things I've tried and decided not to stick with just because I didn't find them to be all that fun or found them to require more time or resources than I was willing to commit toward them (at the expense of other things), so maybe that's part of not being bored. Rural life is more like living in very busy peace ... if that makes any sense at all....

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Merin Porter I definitely have gotten busier as I evolved towards a healthier, natural life!

  • soeasytocraft
    soeasytocraft Posts: 237 ✭✭✭

    Certainly a contrast of life styles! Several years ago my hubby had a follow up appointment to a medical procedure. The question was asked where we lived. Then the recommendation was made that he get some exercise by walking the mall. Our mouths dropped open! Didn't know to laugh or be annoyed. I just replied, "Believe me he gets lots of exercise". Shaking head, driving past the mall and hurried home to the most exciting place on earth! 😂

  • happy-trails
    happy-trails Posts: 170 ✭✭✭

    HAHA! That is hilarious! I just had to read your rooster story again, out loud to my husband! Was the rooster not allowed around the hens that Spring... is that why he held the homestead hostage? haha 😂😂

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @happy-trails No, he was around the hens but I think he had a bad case of cabin fever from being cooped up all winter - that was a very bad winter and they did not get out.

    I felt a little bad when he went home with the amish man. I imagine he was dinner that night - unless they needed a bad A** guard dog

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2021

    My brother raised pigs at one time. Times were tough and money was tight so when the neighbor offered him 3 milk cans of milk that would help stretch out his food he gladly accepted.

    I m not sure why they had so much extra milk but Bob mixed it in with feed and made a hardy slop for the pigs and they really enjoyed it.

    Later he looked down across the road and all the pigs were laying down but one who could barely stand. He raced down to check on the animals. After looking over the very sad pigs and checking their food, he decided the milk had soured and the pigs were actually drunk. They recovered later that day but my brother has a real scare.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    Well, I don't think our pigs ever got drunk but after making beer, we used to add the dregs out of the carboys to their feed. They really seemed to enjoy those dinners. A happy pig is a tasty pork chop! :)

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Rural life is not boring. You never know what might come crashing through the yard. Or watch crows play tag with the wild rabbits.

    Horse charges cat on fence post, scares cat. Cat falls into bathtub water trough just below it. Cat screeches as it hits water, wakes up dog sleeping in water filled bottom fridge drawer under propane tank. Dog jumps up and knocks himself loopy after smacking head into bottom of tank. Horse prances away; you could almost hear the rotten mare giggling.

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @RustBeltCowgirl Your story proves that rural life is more exciting for animals too.

  • Silkiemamuska
    Silkiemamuska Posts: 99 ✭✭✭

    I firmly believe the sentiment that rural life is "boring" is more of a reflection of lack of imagination by those stating such!😁

    Being rural in a way, keeps the "kid in us" alive. Rural living demands creativity and the ability to really see what is in front of you instead of barely lifting eyes from yet another electronic device.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    That's similar to when I was told to go to a swimming pool (in winter). So, I have to sit in a vehicle & drive how far to the city where they have indoor pools...almost an hour there & back again? I don't think so. Sigh.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If you wanted to find my nephew when he was two years old you went to the pig pen and he would be standing outside the pen gently pulling the pigs tail so there were no curves and letting it go and saying Ping. Entertained him for hours.

    Or when a bad storn hit and everyone got stuck on ther hill trying to get home. That included tractors. You would end up at the one neighbors right before the last hill and curve having hot cocoa and popcorn.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    @Denise Grant 🤣🤣🤣 "Ping" is perfect!

    I enjoyed both of your stories. Only in the country! 😁

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning This is why I love country living. Every day is a new story and you never know what the next laugh will be.

    Glad you survived your storm. Those winds reminded me of Wizard of Oz - just with added snow. Brrrr

  • water2world
    water2world Posts: 1,177 ✭✭✭✭

    BORED????? When?? I don't seem to have enough hours in a day to accomplish all I want to!

    I just tell my grand kids----I'm just figuring out what I want to be when I grown up!