Living in the Country

A year ago, I awoke to the rat-a-tat-tat sounds of handguns and drive-by shootings. Today, I awake on Sunday mornings to the sound a solitary shotgun, a sign that the farmer down the road is having his weekly target practice. I never thought that I would be so happy to hear this type of gun sound, since moving from the Williamsport “ghetto” on High Street to Loyalsockville off Route 87.

I have been hearing another sound now that I like -- the mooing of the cows down the road. Now, I have never considered myself to be a true country girl and I have never really paid much attention to cows before I moved here. Sure, I would see cows when I drove to the mall or to Hughesville but they did not faze me. I considered myself to be more of a domestic house pet person, and a bona fide cat lover. These days, I fantasize about having my own cow farm some day. 

My mooing neighbors include seven Angus cows. I first became acquainted with them last summer when I started taking long walks up the road. Back then, there were just five in the herd, including a calf I called Baby. The calf was such a tiny, wobbly little thing standing in a herd of giants that I could not help but fall in love.  Later, the herd grew to seven with the addition of two calves I’ve affectionately named Number 9 and Number 12, after the numbers on the orange tags in their ears. Call me a sucker for baby animals.

I walk by each day and watch these babies grow and grow until one day I cannot tell which cows were the babies and which were the original adults. Every time, it is the same routine. The cows chomp on their hay and stare at me like I’m on a television sitting in the middle of their field. I say, “Hello Buddy, how are you?” “What did you guys do today?” Anyone driving by at the moment seeing me have a one-sided conversation with my furry friends would probably call the men in white jackets. Surely, not every one talks to cows on their daily walk.

Honestly, I’m not sure why I am so delighted to see these creatures every day. Maybe I’m more isolated living in the country now. I don’t go out as much as I used to. I work from home, so there is no trek to the office for me. Some days, I barely venture beyond my property lines. Perhaps this is why I feel such a bond with the animals down the street. I guess I’ve found my new friends.