ah, summer in the country

So we drove back home last night... I was lying down in the car because my back was hurting, so I watched as the city lights and grimy air gradually faded away and the stars appeared, in greater and greater numbers... I always forget how many stars there are... in New York we used to joke about "wow, it's a really clear night, I can see all three stars!"

The lovely country smells welled up, too. The air smells so delicious out here. That's probably what I miss the most in the city... the gorgeous rich smell of the earthy, green air. Well, there's the occasional manure-spread field or smashed skunk, but hey, it's all natural... the last twenty miles Loopy was constantly dodging wildlife... she would suddenly say, "run, little fox!" or "c'mon, silly possum, which way are you going??"

There are a lot more bugs in the country. In the city, one of our windows didn't even have a screen and we could still leave it open, even at night, without being inundated. Here, different story. This morning I got up and a huge moth was fluttering madly about the windows. I don't like huge moths, as you may know, but I wanted to get it out of here, partly because I don't like them. So I got an empty jar and snuck up on it... after much sneaking and coaxing, it was in the jar and I took it outside.

It fluttered about for a bit before alighting on the ground just below the door. Great, I can't open the door now without it flying inside. I contemplated it for a moment. Then it moved, and Jackie spotted it and gobbled it up. Mmmm, yummy, she said, licking her chops.

Well, so much for the moth. And welcome back to the country.