When we first saw our future home on Montaindale Road, we chose it because the house was not within the bounds of a HOA, so we would have the freedom to make decisions that we wanted to make without asking permission. We could have a work truck (with ladder racks) parked in our driveway. We could build a bonfire in our backyard whenever we darn well pleased. We wouldn't have to petition if we decided to add a hot tub, or build on a front porch. We chose the house because it was quiet and in the country....we had neighbors, but we had a yard. We love our house. We love our property.
To be honest, it was a bit of an adjustment. My childhood home was not far from this one, and yet the experience is quite different. As a kid, we lived in more of a neighborhood, and while many considered it "out in the sticks", it does not compare to our home now. I remember chasing lightning bugs in our yard, and pretending to build forts in the "woods" behind our house (which were really more like a bunch of trees separating the property lines....more than just a row...but hardly could be considered "woods"). I remember feeling like going from our back porch to the far corner of the backyard where our apple trees stood took an eternity. I remember thinking that the yard that spanned the back of our house beside our pool was huge and we could definitely host a regulation sized volleyball game, or a full game of tee ball if we wanted. I remember even going out in the front yard when it snowed, wearing about seven layers of sweats and trudging through the front yard and even rolling around in the road because there were hardly ever any cars on it. I knew that if I rode my bike around "the block" four times it would equal one mile. I remember played kick the soda bottle in the street and diving into the ditch to hide from headlights in the dark. I have many fond memories of our home growing up. I would love to even buy that house one day....someday....maybe.
I was hoping to one day grow some apple trees in the backyard. My hopes were tainted by being informed that "if you plant it, they will come". They being the deer. Apple trees will lure deer, fences will not keep them out. Bird feeders will lure bears. Bears???? I mean real live bears? Big, brown, furry, growling bears? Really? Yes really. Our front yard has turned into one of those games you find at arcades like Chuckee Cheese. You know, the game where the little gophers or ground hogs or whatever they are, pop their heads up out of the ground and you bop them on the head with a mallet. I wish I had a mallet. A really large massive mallet.
Sometimes at night, we hear strange noises. I don't think that strange even fully articulates the blood curdling sounds the erupt from the woods behind our house and in the surrounding areas. Well, of course there are the hoot owls. And yes, they really do "HOOT". And then there are the screech owls. I don't think that anyone could have prepared me for that noise. I didn't even know that screech owls existed before moving here. We basically use our neighbor, Jimmy, as our resident naturalist. He can confidently tell you the animal that belongs to any sound or activity that we might see or hear on a daily basis.
The spring is the worst. When its just starting to get a little milder in the evenings that we can actually sit outside without dressing like Eskimos. We will be sitting on the back deck chatting or just staring at the stars (which is another reason we bought the place....we could actually SEE the stars instead of just seeing a slight glow from the sky mixing in with all the city lights), and we hear this eruption from the woods. This noise far surpassed the shrilling sound of the screech owl. It literally, without exaggeration, sounds equivalent to the sound a woman would make if she was being attacked and violated in the wilderness as she was gasping for any chance that someone somewhere within earshot would hear her and save her from her imminent demise. The first time we heard this terrifying sound, we seriously contemplated calling the police. We had high hopes that it would be an animal of some sort but were truly concerned about the alternative. I believe that I even insisted that Vince go next door and get Jimmy to see what the sound was. Well, apparently, after consulting our all knowing neighbor, we learned that it was in fact the sound made by a young fawn. We were astounded. How could a small child-like animal make a sound so hair raising? Needless to say that that alone has taken some getting used to.
When its dark, it is DARK. When there is no moon and no stars, there are no lights, nothing to light your path as you walk outside. I admit that even at 30+ years of age, I still have quite a sprint in my step when I need to run out to the car in the dark at night. And if I walk through the kitchen to go to bed, I always whip shut the blinds that cover the sliding glass door that is a full length window to the vast backyard abyss. I am half afraid to find someone peering in my windows, I believe some of that may be due to memories of movies like I Am Legend that literally puts a panicking fear that tightens in my chest.
The first month or so that we lived there, our husky-pitt mix, Bailey, would not even pee anywhere except the very edge of the driveway, especially at night. Until that time, the poor dog (aka a goat) had never seen anything bigger than himself. Now, he was spooked by noises of animals he could smell and see their eyes glowing in the dark woods. He has since adjusted, especially with the addition of his partner in crime, Lexi, a loud mouthed spunky little pitt that would be happy to rough house with an animal three times her size.
Many people have commented that they are uneasy walking to their cars at night when leaving our house. Some have also mentioned that they are sure that once they turn on our road they hear a distinct sound of dueling banjos in the distance.
On Tuesday night, we had a nice snowfall come upon us. As I drove home from work at about 6:45pm, I rounded the first corner on the road, trying to take it slow as to not slide of the edge into a ditch. I had my high beams on and thought maybe I should not for fear I may be surprised my a deer since I couldn't see far in front of me due to the falling snow. I was experiencing the warp speed phenomenon that you get when you drive into snow. As I was praying that nothing would suddenly appear just beyond the reaches of my headlights, I glanced to my right and was startled. Startled may be an understatement. I actually gasped and felt as if I jumped out of my skin. To my right I saw this massive black object floating along the edge of the road. Once I recovered, I realized that there were many of these black masses. It was also then that I realized that they were cows. The cows were standing right along the farm's fence line which follows the road's edge. The cows were huge and black, and had an odd contrast of white snow laying on top of their backs. Its was just such a strange picture to me. I wish that I could have taken a picture of it....to share...but I didn't have my camera, and given the road conditions, would not have been able to successfully stop the car to take such a picture. Maybe next time.
In conclusion, (I am making this conclusion statement for the benefit of all of those that write for the Frederick News Post - if you can call it writing) I live in the sticks now. And it definitely keeps life interesting.
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