From City Mouse to Country Mouse

If you don't live in a city, I doubt any of these things will seem strange to you. But I grew up in the suburbs, then lived in NYC for 15 years. My spouse was born and raised in Queens. So all these little things struck us as, well, kinda startling.

So here's my list of "Ways I Know We Live in the Country":

1. I had to put those reflectors on plastic sticks in the front yard so I could find our driveway in the dark.
2. Our town has a First St., Second St., and Third St. -- then you're out of town.
3. I drive a 1988 Ford Bronco II and a woman stopped me at the gas station to ask me what year it was because she had the same model. She thought this was very cool.
4. The busiest place in our town is the King Kone ice cream joint. And yes, it IS shaped like an ice cream cone. With a cherry on top.
5. There are no stoplights in our town (unless you count the one at the end of town where you hit the highway).
6. We throw dirty kitty litter in the grass at the edge of our yard.
7. We feed all our food scraps to the chickens.
8. We toss any moldy or rotten food, onions, garlic, and coffee grounds on a compost pile.
9. We burn the rest of our garbage in a 50-gallon drum.
10. If a deer gets hit on the road in front of your house, no one comes to pick it up. You have to remove it yourself. I know because we had to do this.
11. It takes at least five hours to mow the lawn on the riding mower. (And I actually *like* mowing the lawn.)
12. A bevy of bats comes out of the barn at dusk every night. We like bats (they eat bugs).
13. On a clear night you can actually see the Milky Way. And shooting stars.
14. My spouse and I both have muck shoes -- and wear them. (Yes, this is the man who practically wore his combat boots to bed.)
15. Cows live next door.
16. You can make an entire meal (like ratatouille) with vegetables from the garden.
17. We canned homegrown fruits, vegetables, pickles, and salsa.
18. I have been doing crossstitch. I also learned to needle-felt with wool from our llamas.
19. We are going to the State Fair this week.
20. The hardward store is closer than the grocery store.
21. I shop at the Feed'n'Seed.
22. You hear train whistles instead of sirens.
23. Almost no one is ever seen talking on a cell phone.
24. There are far more more pick-ups than SUVs.
25. It's 12 miles to the nearest Starbucks.
26. Every room in our house except one is panelled.
27. Our mailbox is across the road with one of those little red flags you put up so the mailman knows you have mail to pick up. (This completely baffled my spouse, who is from Queens.)
28. There's no cable TV. We had to get a satellite dish.
29. Our water comes from a WELL.
30. We hear coyotes several times a week, and see a pair of sandhill cranes almost as often.