I hope y’all been having a great summer so far. I’ve definitely been enjoying the warm weather and our first summer at the new house. Although it hasn’t come without it’s share of anxiety that I’ve been dealing with over the past couple of weeks.
Around this time last year we started house hunting which ultimately led to us buying a place…Forcing us
to scramble to complete renos we had been neglecting for some time. We had just two months to get the crucial renovations done AND sell our house! Which was just insane…but somehow with many sleepless nights we managed to do it. As we come up on the anniversary we find ourselves reflecting on the drastic change of moving from the city to not only rural countryside, but actual forest dwelling. And I have to say that for us, we couldn’t have made a better decision.
Having said that, it has come with it’s own challenges and a lifestyle that I’m still getting used to. For one the bugs. I’ve never dealt with so many mosquitoes in my life. Ugh. And still getting used to the fact that WE are responsible for our own water supply. The random bird nests along the house…I could go on and on.
For one, I’ve always wanted a garden. And I got one – but one that I could not handle. No matter how many weeds I yanked out and how much landscaping I did I just could not keep up with Mother Nature. Nicely defined landscaping took on a life of it’s own. Random flowers and grasses kept popping up at a quicker pace than I could deal with them. And it was this constant feeling of being overwhelmed and not being able to stay on top of things and have everything be perfect that caused me a bit of anxiety.
When I finally did manage to get a small section of garden under control I planted some pretty pink flowers I brought home from a gardening event. By the next morning all the petals had been eaten creating a serious WTF moment. It took me some time to figure out that deer and rabbits were feeding on them. And as soon as new blooms would spring up, within a day or two they’d just get eaten again. There have been times where I’ve literally sat there staring at the rabbits taking down my flowers yet I can’t get mad because they’re just too cute. Plus I used to have a pet bunny as a kid so I’m probably bias in their favour. But I digress…
That being said while I’m still adjusting to the extreme opposite from the city dwelling I’ve been used to my whole life I am enjoying all the unique experiences that come with forest dwelling. I’d heard of those couples who left Toronto to move out somewhere remote (and I even had friends that did it) and I used to think it was crazy. Until we did it that is. And I have to say it’s been quite the trip so far. Although disclaimer: we are fortunate that we do still have a place to stay in TO. Without that safety blanket in place I’m not sure we would’ve been able to walk away from Toronto so easily. After all, Toronto will always be home for the both of us.
