Not that I have been overly freaked out by the various bugs and rodents that may cross one’s path in the suburbs, but I have risen to the level of nonplussed when it comes to dealing with the grosser aspects of country living.  A friend of mine who lives in central Washington near the Canadian border has waged an all out war on voles that decimated her garden last year and has tracked her body count on Facebook.  Country gals become a little tougher, (and find our entertainment in unique ways).  My personal vendetta has been houseflies, tons of them, with no let up in winter.  I have searched the web for ideas, and short of killing the dang things and removing their food source, there was little help.  I have heard anecdotally that flies are a problem in log and wood beam homes, but cannot find documentation or the answer to why?  I am stumped on the food source, as I have no attic space to hide a dead rodent, the garbage tucked away in a pull out, and I have never seen any activity near the cat items…so clobbering and cleaning up flies is part of the daily routine.  I am the proud owner of four fly swatters and my shop vac has a place of honor among the weapons of war.  Next up is sterilizing the interior surfaces in the hopes it will discourage the filthy little buzzers.

Yesterday when I went out the cat had left me a gift of a severed mouse head and the less tasty (I’m assuming) guts on the walkway to the garage.  I don’t really have a problem, anymore at least, of flinging them into the woods with a shovel, but I have to say even this newly minted country girl was not thrilled to clean the barfed up  indigestible parts of a mouse at 5:30 AM.  Thanks cat!

The trade-offs for which I am grateful:

• Even on this gray morning the air is still, crisp and smells so clean
• Heating with wood is one of the most cheerful ways to stay warm
• The quiet is so soft, the birdsong so sweet in early spring, the stillness so calming

Today I will continue to practice happiness, gratefulness and mindfulness.  I will try a new activity, the First Friday celebration in town, to meet new people while “being Cathrine”.