Before we moved out here to the great big middle of nowhere, we lived on 3 acres off of FM 1886 or Confederate Park Rd. It was an older 2 story frame house. We learned some things there. Some things about gardening, water well repairs, old Farmall tractors, crazy neighbors, and right of ways across our property. Doug loves being outside and being busy. So eventually we found 25 acres in SE Jack county. We bought it and moved a travel trailer out there to stay in on the weekends. Eventually we bought the 25 acres adjoining it. I think when Doug cut the fence to put in the gate between the two properties was one of the happiest days of his life.
In 2001 we decided that we should just sell our house on Confederate Park and move to Jack County. We were spending all of our spare time out there anyways. So we sold our house and moved to the country. We had talked previously about building a house, but decided that the quickest way to get out there and settled was a manufactured home. We are still planning on building a house, but now our problem is we don’t know if we wan’t to stay here when we retire. So we’ll just wait and see. That’s less then 10 years away.
I was a city girl. I was raised there. I was use to jumping in my car and running to the mall whenever the mood struck me. If I needed something from the store, I simply ran out and got it. But living out here an hour from any mall, 30 minutes from a large store like Walmart, 20 minutes from the dinky grocery store in Jacksboro, if you don’t have it on hand you learn to do without it.
But that really isn’t a sacrifice for me. I’ve gained so much more. We enjoy sitting outside and seeing the deer and wild turkey crossing the pastures. I like watching the birds on the feeder. We have a red headed woodpecker that comes every year. There is a red tailed hawk that lives near the front of the property. I can walk quietly across the pastures and through the woods and stop and listen to the sounds around me. At certain times of the year we can step outside at sunset and listen to the coyotes.
I know how to mix the feed for the cows. I have helped nurse a sick calf and give it penicillan injections. I can lift a bag of feed out of the truck and move it into the barn. I can drive and operate the tractor. I have driven down the icy gravel road in the tractor to help pull Doug out of a ditch. We have learned to stay put when the weather is bad. We have seen the sky red from fire from a wild fire sweeping across the hillside. We’ve smelled smoke in the air and looked for it wondering where it was and which way the wind was blowing.
I don’t miss shopping. Most of the time anyway. I’ve learned to stock up the pantry and freezer with things I think I’ll need. I enjoy the little things. I think the city girl is gone.