For this month's theme, I had to dig deep. Not exactly an unknown occurrence for me, lol.
I'm not a nature girl.
At all.
I'm a city chick to the max despite the fact I live in the woods and am an inveterate hermit and introvert.
Give me a fifty-floor high rise in the center of New York City, overlooking the Battery on one side, Central Park on the other and I feel home.
The 24-hour bright street lights; the continual thumping and rumble of the traffic; the angry car horns blaring, the never-ending ambulance and police car sirens - they are all white noise and comfort food for my soul. I was born and raised in New York City and can't imagine growing up anywhere else.
Why, then, do I live in the woods of New England you ask?
Because that's where the home hubby and I purchased 28 years ago is located. Situated on 2 acres of wooded terrain, my nearest neighbor is 1/4 of a mile away. To that diehard hermit in me, that part is Nirvana. To the city chick in me? Not so much.
So, how does this city girl, born and bred, function living in all this nature?
It wasn't easy at first. When you grow up in a town that never sleeps - or closes - it's hard to get used to a place where the town shuts down at 8 p.m. and there are no streetlights. Harder still was the fact that I had to drive everywhere every time I needed something.
Growing up if I had to make a snack run at midnight, all I had to do was throw on some jeans and a shirt and hike a half-block to my neighborhood deli. When we moved to NE and I needed something for my baby at 2 am, nothing and I mean NOTHING was open. No 24-hour pharmacy; no Pathmark grocery store. Nada. This taught me to be a shopper prepper - meaning that whenever I went grocery shopping I won't only bought what I actually needed that week, but what I MIGHT need should the issue arise. Believe it or not, I still shop that way.
Growing up if I needed new shoes for an event or an outfit for something, I took a Saturday morning and shopped in what probably was an average of 10-15 stores, all located within a 5-minute train ride from me.
When we moved to NE to a town that had no recreational shopping stores, I had to make due with driving 90 minutes to the nearest mall.
I hate malls.
Always have; always will.
But...for the sake of fashion survival, I did it. Thank God for the Internet now.
There are several things absolutely amazing about living close to nature that you can't find in the city, though.
My home office is located in our finished attic and my window overlooks our property. Each year I watch the seasons change from day to day. If you've never experienced a New England autumn leaf-peeping season, you should make it a bucket list item. Colors that you don't see anywhere in nature erupt from the months of September to November.
Coupled with watching the seasons change is the wildlife.
In NYC I saw squirrels and pigeons. That was it. Occasionally a feral cat if I was out after midnight,
Here in my woods, I see ( daily) chipmunks scurrying up and down the trees; gaggles of wild turkeys traversing my property on their daily hunt for food; deer running freely across my backyard and not even flinching when they see my dog staring at them.
Every New England bird you can imagine sits in my trees on one say or another. Red robins are the norm, but I've seen bluebirds yellow feathered birds, barn owls, even finches, and an occasional bat. Thankfully, no pigeons.
We have fished cats prowling at night, along with skunks - not my favorite two animals, but I give them their space and they leave me and my dog alone.
If you've never been snowbound during a winter season from a storm that dumped upward of 3-4 feet on your house, well, you haven't lived. That hermit in me loves the yearly nor'easters and snowmageddons for the simple fact I can hibernate and just watch the white stuff come down while I work.
My daughter grew up in this country lifestyle and appreciated the quiet and simple way we lived - and still do. But...she is my daughter, so she's a city girl to the core as well. DNA will always out us, won't it, LOL.
As a lover of nature and someone who appreciates the hustle and bustle of city life as well, I have the best of both worlds. And believe me - I appreciate both!
4 comments:
Totally get this, Peggy. I was born and brought up in Washington, D.C. As a kid, I also lived in Taipei, Taiwan. If you want to compare a chaotic city to NYC, Taipei is crazy. Instead of dodging yellow cabs, you are dodging bicycles, rickshaws, and hordes of people. OK, that part is the same as NYC. At least D.C. is laid out in a grid, so it is hard to get lost as long as you know numbers and the alphabet - 18th and Yuma - easy, unless you start at Albemarle St. or 1st street, then you know you have blocks to go. But like NYC, D.C. has beautiful green spaces that seems like an oasis among the chaos. I love my city, but I love more my small Maine town, although my location is not as serene as yours. I have a school next door and the police station down a few blocks, and the fire department a few blocks in the other direction. But not constant sirens. like D.C. and NYC. When I am one place, I miss the other and vice versa.
Unlike Deb, I only half-get-this. I do connect with your description of the view from your home office, the beauty of nature, the wildlife but not the city part. I'm not a shopper, don't really care about fashion however, now that I'm in my "golden" years, I prefer to be closer to doctors, dentists, etc. 90 minutes away is too far especially since I live alone. Thinking about it, if I was in NYC or another big bustling city, I wouldn't want to take the subway or have to walk 10 - 15 minutes to a doctor appointment either.
Love your descriptions though. I've only stepped off the train onto the platform at Grand Central Station so I could say I'd "been in NYC"...I think maybe London is the biggest city I've spent time in. They just aren't a draw to me.
Deb- I feel and hear this so much!!! When we go to NYC I am missing the quiet of NH. When we are in NH, I want the hustle and bustle of the city!!! Crazy, right??
Judith- I've bene in London, too and I think it's as crazy as NYC!!! Only the people sound better when they talk, lol!
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