• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sandhenge Publications

Jim Potter, Author

  • About the Author
  • Author Blog
    • Sign Up for Jim’s Posts
  • Blog Podcasts
  • Book Reviews
  • Contact the Author
  • Read the Behind the Books Blog
    • Listen to the Audio Blog
  • Check Book Reviews
  • Sign Up to Receive Blog Posts
  • All Books

Country Living

July 18, 2018 by Jim Potter 15 Comments

Share this blog post

Email
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Country-Living.m4a

You Know You Live in the Country (Reno County, KS) when . . .

Living in the country isn’t for everybody. If dirt roads and lack of sidewalks bother you, and if you get scared when it’s actually dark at night, and you can hear natural sounds, the country’s not for you.

You know you live in the country when . . .

  • you cut the grass growing in the middle of the road.
  • your neighbors know that the “No Trespassing“ signs don’t apply to them. They’re welcome.
  • the “Welcome Wagon” includes a father and son who resemble the Mountain Men from the movie Deliverance. Before long, you discover they’re the nicest people you’ve ever met.
  • your spouse—taught by her Mississippi-born mother—meets people she doesn’t know at the door with a shotgun. That includes the unannounced, uninvited Reno County tax appraiser wandering around the property peering in windows.
  • all your neighbors laugh when a newcomer to the area thinks his Reno County property tax assessment appeal will be considered fairly, without prejudice! Hahaha!
  • your neighbors share dark humor about government assistance. The jokes all begin with: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” And the truisms all end with the bureaucrat taking, not giving; hurting, not helping.
  • city folk visitors see a snake and swear it’s a rattler when obviously it’s a bull snake.
  • the neighbor who lives across from the meth house has a daughter who wants to set up a lemonade stand (and sell munchies) whenever the road traffic gets backed up in the drug dealer’s driveway.
  • you receive a postcard advertising fast Internet. When you call them, they tell you it doesn’t include your area.
  • your neighbors all gather on the road whenever a lost semi-truck gets stuck trying to turn around in the sandy soil. It’s like a picnic without food: plenty of catching up between friends and useless advice for the driver.
  • your directions to your house include, “Turn off the main road.”
  • first-time visitors to your house think they can find it because they have GPS, then spend 45 minutes driving around the county—lost—before calling you for help.
  • loud 4-wheelers, firecrackers, gunfire, and big dogs are never considered disturbing the peace.
  • everyone drives a pickup truck and it’s for need, not looks.
  • you wash your car and after one trip to town it’s all dusty again.
  • the neighborhood hears that Reno County has scheduled a “controlled” burn; this causes your friends to place bets on whether they will be told to evacuate again once the fire jumps the nearby road.
  • you lose electricity due to a weather crisis and you know you’re at the bottom of the priority list for repair.
  • you live too far away from town to hear tornado sirens.

  • you check on the weather by stepping outside instead of checking your phone.
  • you hear heavy sounds on the roof and recognize it’s not Santa Clause or Rudolph; it’s a flock of turkeys passing through the area who just found a temporary roost.
  • you walk down to the township road to pick up your daily newspaper, the Hutchinson News, but you get delayed by picking and eating ripe mulberries on the way.
  • you observe birds, squirrels, turkeys, turtles, and deer also eating mulberries.
  • flowering catalpa trees bloom in June and catalpa worms devour the leaves in July and August.
    Photograph by Jim Potter, copyright 2018
  • you can see and hear Canada geese fly over. You are also under the flyway for pelicans, snow geese, and monarch butterflies!
  • you can see majestic cloud patterns in the open sky.
  • you’re in the middle of thunder and lightning storms.
  • you can hear the snap of tree limbs all around your property as a result of the most recent ice storm.
  • you can hear the bullfrogs, owls, and coyotes at night.
  • your privacy is respected so you can enjoy the beauty of nature.

Until next time, happy writing and reading!

Share this blog post

Email
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin

Related

Filed Under: Blog posts

Sign Up for the Blog

You will never have to check this site for the latest blog post, and you’ll get the latest and the greatest first! You will receive a confirmation email that you must respond to in order to be officially subscribed.

IMPORTANT! Check your Junk and Spam folders as needed!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ray says

    July 18, 2018 at 8:59 am

    Town: I can walk to the store in a snow disaster. Country: A lifetime of breathtaking sunsets/sunrises. Town: 911 help gets to me in 5 minutes or less (even on a bad day). Country: Visits from turkeys, deer and other critters in a natural environment. Town: Less than two minutes from work. Country: Work is a million miles away on weekends.

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      July 18, 2018 at 9:03 am

      Ray, thanks for your comments! You get it! I’ll bet you could make a pretty good list of differences between bicycling and driving a car. Jim

      Reply
  2. Bill says

    July 18, 2018 at 10:31 am

    I used to take inner-city kids to camp. Many freaked out with complete darkness and quiet. Enjoyed the contrasts!

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      July 18, 2018 at 6:54 pm

      Bill, thanks for your comments. When we do have visitors (they call ahead) from town, it’s amazing how many people are caught off guard by the silence out here. When you took the inner-city kids to camp, I’ll bet they were easy prey for a ghost story! Which reminds me of how many kids have been homesick at a three day overnight camp I directed for 20 years. Happy writing & selling, Jim

      Reply
  3. Tom says

    July 18, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    I would love country living, Tom

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      July 18, 2018 at 7:01 pm

      Tom, do you live in the city? Living in the country doesn’t mean there aren’t problems, it just means that there are less rules. I think in general people are more inclined to leave each other alone and let neighbors do their own thing. And neighbors might not talk much, but if someone needs help, then about everyone’s ready to help. Jim

      Reply
      • Tom says

        July 19, 2018 at 10:39 pm

        Jim, I think I would most like listening to the owls, bullfrogs and crickets. I would especially like looking into the sky at night and seeing all of the stars in heaven. I would like having neighbors but not having them close and if they needed anything I would be there to help out if anything happened. If nothing was wrong I would leave them alone and they would leave me alone. Tom

        Reply
  4. Linda says

    July 18, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    That’s good Jim, and so so true. Linda

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      July 18, 2018 at 7:03 pm

      Linda, thanks for responding. I’m not sure which one of the examples you identified with the most. I didn’t mention that if there’s a big snow storm, we just plan on staying home for a few days. No big deal. Jim

      Reply
  5. Sean says

    July 19, 2018 at 5:54 am

    Liked the latest blog, very evocative of the image I have of your home area.

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      July 19, 2018 at 6:09 am

      Sean, thanks for your comments! Makes me wonder how much back country there is in England. At least you avoid our HOT summers (well, until this year). You are so fortunate to have the sea nearby. We miss the sea. It’s been about 350 million years ago. Jim

      Reply
  6. Marilyn Bolton says

    July 19, 2018 at 7:38 am

    Thank you, Jim. Your words evoke years-old memories of growing up near a tiny town–almost like living in the country. It’s the night skies!

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      July 19, 2018 at 7:54 am

      Marilyn, thank you for responding! My how our roots are a constant source of memories and stories. I grew up in the suburbs but travel and camping did allow a view of those amazing night skies! Thanks again, Jim

      Reply
  7. Tracy says

    July 22, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    Sounds like heaven. I miss country living.

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      July 22, 2018 at 10:12 pm

      Tracy, thanks for your comment. A friend reminded me of how he enjoys looking into the night sky and watching the stars. Jim

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Jim Potter, Author

author

Recent Blog Posts

  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Choosing a Title January 26, 2023
  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Multitasking January 19, 2023
  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Networking January 12, 2023
  • Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Introduction January 5, 2023
  • Charles Collins: First Reno County Sheriff September 30, 2022

If you prefer to listen . . .

If you prefer to listen to my blog posts, you can do so … List of podcasts about Podcasts

Post Archives

  • January 2023
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017

What People Are Saying

Footer

Follow Jim on Facebook

Follow Jim on Facebook

Interviews with Jim Potter

Video interview with James Lowe outside Bookends Bookstore July 21, 2022

Print interview with author Bill Bush September 1, 2022

Print interview with author Cheryl Unruh February 28, 2019

Hutchinson Magazine Article

Copyright © 2023 Sandhenge Publications · Website by Rosemary Miller