Once we arrived at Holly Lake, we found that we had some adjusting to do. Our first "awakening" occurred when we were moving furniture into the house and decided it was time to eat. We quickly figured out that pizza delivery was a luxury that we no longer had available. Slowly, other past conveniences were missed. Gone were the days of the Saturday morning Starbucks run. No more quick trips to the grocery store - the nearest Brookshires is 12 miles away and the closest Walmart is over 20 miles away. The Chevron mini-mart has become a way of life and Fred's has turned into our Walmart alternative. Eating dinner out during the week must now occur before 8:00 PM as local/Rural restaurants close early. They also don't have near the beverage selection - what is Mexican food without Margaritas??
Our son has had some adjustments to make as well. He has moved from a 5A school that was communication and technology savvy, had a 350 member marching band, indoor football workout fields, premiere football stadium, professional tennis courts, etc. to a 2A school where communication is a rarity, not sure about their technology - they have a web page but for some reason it doesn't get updated and is not utilized to it potential. The marching band consists of 65 members, there is no auditorium (the gym is used for assemblies and band concerts), the band director doubles as a bus driver and there is a cat in the cafeteria (the lunch lady brings her cat to work). The bus ride home is also a little different as there are kindergartners thru high schoolers on the bus - the elementary school, middle school and high school are all on the same campus.
Overall, our family has made a good adjustment. Our son has made several new friends and seems to have adjusted well to the new school. The long drives to work, shopping and restaurants are not bad at all as the beautiful scenery is a great distraction. The Spring time was spectacular with all of the Dogwood trees in bloom. Our taxes and utilities have all dropped substantially, and we love our new home.
For me, my favorite aspect of the move has been the exposure to the wildlife. Those of you who know me know my love for animals. Any creature that comes my way is interesting and exciting to me. The best part of our community is all the deer. The deer are protected in Holly Lake and are abundant. Rarely does a day go by when you don't see the deer. I looked forward to taking my son to school each morning not only for the long ride which gave us opportunity to talk but also because that was the best time of the day for spotting the deer. Recently, we are seeing families of deer. It is so precious seeing a mother with her two little fawns walking across a street or eating alongside the road. They are such beautiful animals.
Another part of the wildlife that I have recently been exposed to has been the raccoons. Over the last couple of months we have had a raccoon family that comes to our back porch every night. They started coming, initially, to eat the birdseed off of our bird feeder. My Dad let me know that raccoons will eat just about anything so I started leaving leftovers out on our patio table. Every night they show up and they are now bringing their babies. They are getting somewhat used to me and allow me to stand out on the patio with them as long as I stay at least a couple of feet away. I watch and photograph them every night - I'm hooked on raccoons. My family feels I have become obsessed with them - which, I guess I have. There's just something fulfilling about a wild animal trusting you enough to let you that close.
In addition to the raccoons, I have also adopted three chickens. My interest in chickens was sparked by a home that I passed every day on the way to work. Each day I would pass this house and see that they always had chickens out in the front yard but nobody watching them. The more I saw this the more I wanted chickens of my own. I wore my husband down and finally got 3 of them. They were a day old when I acquired them. Initially as chicks, they had to be kept in a cage inside the house under a heat lamp. I held them pretty frequently and had to pick them up several times a day to clean their cage. I have held them enough that they have become somewhat tame. I love them and really enjoy watching them. They have grown significantly since I bought them and are now running around in our front yard. They never wander far and are very easy to take care of. I really enjoy it when friends come out and bring their kids. Usually, the kids are very interested in the chickens and enjoy playing with them. The chickens seem to enjoy being held and petted as well.
Part of the reason for this blog is simply to detail experiences in our transition to country life but also to use it as an outlet for my excitement over the animals I'm around. I hope that you enjoy the stories, information and photos
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