Country Livin': A Few of my Favorite Things about Country Life

Happy Monday, Ya'll!

Ok, I don't really ever say ya'll but since I'm talking about living in the country today, it didn't feel quite right to say anything else but "ya'll"!

Most of you know that Seth and I recently moved to the garlic capital of the world, Gilroy.

Whenever we mention that we live here people say..."oh, I drove through there on my way to L.A" -- or "Oh!! That's the place with all the garlic and the outlets right?"

No one really knows what's here.

And to be honest, we didn't really know until we got here what it was like. There are some awesome benefits to living out here in the country though, some that I didn't expect to enjoy, and some that I don't think I could ever enjoy.  It is SO much different than living in the city, and I'm really enjoying discovering new country life things!

We'll start with the dislikes:
First, let's talk spiders. They are EVERYWHERE. And I truly mean that.  I make Seth walk in front of me and down the stairs before we leave the house because flying spiders weave webs all over our porch and stairs, so every day we walk into at least one spider and its web.  And they get in the house too! Most of the time I find them dead, which is weird because I don't kill that many of them, they just are randomly dead on my floor.  Yay for handi-vacs and husbands.

The bee's and flies. Oh yet another benefit of living in the country, those are also everywhere. I bought bee and fly traps right when I moved in because I knew I would be too afraid to even walk in the house if there were bee's and wasp's around. Good thing is, the traps work great. Bad thing, they smell like dead animals, and the smell wafts ALL over the property. My disclaimer when we have guests is "sorry it smells like death, we have to control the fly's somehow." Anyone know of a good fly trap that doesn't stink? Also, Seth likes taking pictures of the bee trap as the bee's disintegrate....boys.

Woo Hoo! Not too many bad things!

Now on to the new and exciting country things that I like and find amusing, at least for now :)

1. Packs of wild turkeys. 

WILD TURKEYS! And when I say pack I mean like 10 of them, just doing there thang in the countryside eating people's lawns. I probably will only find them exciting from a distance to be honest, if they ever come near me I'm sure I would have a heart attack. 

2. Possums. 

Ok, maybe aren't that great either to have in your yard...but in the burbs and the city we don't have those little critters! Last night Seth and I saw one crossing the road, and it was the first time I'd ever seen one outside of a zoo. They're pretty disgusting looking, but slightly less awful than a raccoon? Maybe. 

3. Property cats.

 This concept doesn't really make sense to me either but we'll go with it. We live on a big property that has a main house, a guest house, and a studio. The owners of the whole property have two cats but didn't want to take them with when they moved so they just roam the property as they please. It's like having a cat, but without the responsibility to feed it, which is perfect for my cat allergies! Seth and I have named one of them Alfred, obviously a cool-cat name. Seth also likes to let Alfred in to visit, not my favorite but I know he misses having cats around. 

4. The Milky Way & stars.

 We can see so many stars from our porch, and even a huge part of the Milky Way. It is my favorite thing when we get home at night to just look up for a few minutes and admire the plethora of stars where all we could see before was city lights. 

5. Cows, Chickens, Roosters, Sheep, Goats, Horses.

Hello awesome farm animals. In the field next to our house the owners brought cows over for a couple days just to eat the grass. How cool is that?! We were leaving for school in the morning and all the sudden there are three stunning black and white spotted cows next to our house! If you leave our door open you can hear the constant neighing of horses, cooing of roosters, and even the occasional goat noise. What is the sound called that goats make anyways? 

Either way, I love getting to experience these new animal sounds and sights. There is something so homegrown and organic about it. 

5. The produce.

 HELLO cheap produce! Basically, I can go to the Farmer's Market 7 days a week and pay significantly less than any city grocery store. Last week I got 4 zucchini for $.50. Fifty cents people!! Shopping for produce however, is where I feel my greatest need to learn some basic spanish. More than 60% of the people here are of latin decent, aka...I'm asking for Rosetta Stone Spanish for Christmas. Feliz navidad?

6. The outlets.

I just realized that I haven't mentioned the outlets yet. Well we live less than 5 minutes from the coveted Gilroy outlets, and ladies, it doesn't really get much better than that. Shop till you drop, then come over and have dinner with us!

Most dangerous outlets: Fossil, Gap, Lulu, and Forever 21. Danger I tell you. 

7. Horses

I know I mentioned horses in the random pack of animals, but they are really cool to have around in the neighborhood. They are so majestic and beautiful, and I didn't even mind when one pooped in our driveway last week because I couldn't stop thinking about how cool it was that we live near horses. 

8. The quiet. 

It is so dang quiet out here! We are a few miles from the highway and the houses are few and far between, so the noise is minimal and it's just so peaceful. You never really feel the need for quiet until you have it, and now going to the cities and even suburbs seems loud and obnoxious. 

Dear Gilroy,

You are turning out better than we thought. You are not quiet the armpit we expected, and you really have a lot to offer us. Thanks for the animals, the produce, the shopping, and the peace and quiet. You're making the transition to country life pretty sweet. 

Linking up for miscellany monday!