Ranchette Life
There are ups and down to living at the urban/country interface. Deer are the best downside example. Luckily, there’s enough country around me that the woods offer better habitat than my yard. Scorpions are another. Found one in the kitchen this morning. I took it back outside. Mostly I find their desiccated bodies in the house. There’s no water and little food. Once upon a time we had a pest control service spray the outside of the house, but stopped because of the dog.
On the upside, I like seeing raccoons and the occasional fox. And the birds are plentiful, although the sparrows are a pest. At night we get the local armadillo and a passing skunk. They dig up grubs and keep the yard nicely aerated. Luckily, I don’t have any outside dogs to bother the latter, and the cats seem better educated on the subject. And of course, there’s the view out my windows of the country and the hills beyond.
In the end, though, I suspect the country will go the way of all country and get developed. My view will disappear and all I’ll have is road noise and my yard. Much like most of my suburban life. Although the true end will find me in a home or an apartment, the world squeezed in around me because that’s how you keep an old man safe and upright living out his days in dreams of yesteryear with his memories of hugs and soft kisses.