babybloomr

I don’t know what it is about the seasons changing that ignites my wanderlust, but every spring and fall I start itching to make a change.

Maybe it’s all those years I toured with Russ and the band, and we always went on our longest runs in the fall and spring. Or maybe it’s some latent instinct that every season change means that another year has come and gone, and I don’t have an infinite number of them left. Or, it could just be allergies. I dunno. At any rate, this year is no exception, but instead of planning a bunch of weekend trips out into the countryside of Tennessee to search out those obscure small town festivals I love so much (Leiper’s Fork Chili Cook-off, anyone?), I have kind of set my sights on something bigger– I am really thinking about moving.  (And by “I”, I actually mean “we”– Russ and the girls are in on this, too!) Nothing huge, like relocating to the Faroe Islands or anything, but maybe moving a little farther out of town, to a place with some land. Not a real working farm or anything, because while I enjoy the *idea* of gazing out a farmhouse window at placid black and white cows peacefully grazing in the back 40, the reality of having livestock is kind of, well, ewww. (I would not, however, be opposed to living NEXT DOOR to a farm so I could occasionally pet somebody else’s large smelly animals.)

Here’s the deal: for 21 years, we lived right smack in the middle of Nashville, around the Vanderbilt area, close to the action with all of the conveniences that come with that lifestyle. Loved it, but didn’t miss it one bit when we moved out (a little) to the suburbs. We’ve now spent almost 6 years in the beautiful ‘Brentwood bubble,’ as they call it around here– lovely developments with a little more space, beautiful green hills surrounding us, with the added bonus of being able to drive past picturesque horse farms with the occasional grazing herds of cattle on our way to the mall. Russ and I figure we are probably about one move away from heading back towards Nashville with its convenient access to everything (like assisted living!), and we are kind of hankering for something we haven’t done yet. Since I’m a writer I can work from anywhere, and since Charlotte goes to a tutorial prep school she only has to be there two days a week, so our only real consideration is Russ’ access to the airport. We know lots of artists who also travel on a weekly basis but live out of town– Mike English, David Phelps and Bonnie Keen respectively live in Spring Hill, Culleoka and Thompsons Station– and the general consensus is that the perks far outweigh the drawbacks.

And if I’m being totally honest here? Having Madi Rose in college has definitely gotten us thinking of the not–too-distant future in which Russ and I will have an empty nest (although as all of my friends and family with older kids have assured me,  just because they leave for college doesn’t mean they won’t still end up moving back in on down the line!) I think maybe I am subconsciously protecting myself from living in this same house but with a big empty space where the girls used to be… Taking on a new place and a new town and a new adventure kind of seems like a good idea right about now! At any rate, we may change our minds and we’re a long way from calling the movers, but who knows? It could happen!

So, how about you guys? Do you get restless when the seasons change? Are you a city person or a country person? Can you picture ME in a rural setting?

Discuss.

Hey guys!

Sorry I’ve been a little MIA this week… I have been keeping up with all of your comments however, even though I didn’t answer them– I promise I will talk back more this week. (You have to appreciate the irony of ME having to promise anyone I’ll start talking more!)

I INTERRUPT THIS (pretty boring) POST (that I actually started writing last night) WITH AN EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT:

I JUST SAW A COYOTE IN THE BACKYARD!!! A BIG ONE!

Kinda like this guy:

(This is not my actual coyote, I was too busy hopping around wringing my hands and doing an  “I don’t know nuthin’ ’bout birthing babies!” Prissy-from-Gone-With-the-Wind impression to go get my camera.)

Or THIS one:

(They just LOOK like they’re guilty of something, don’t they?)

If you follow me on Twitter/Facebook you’ve already heard me ranting about this all morning, but hey, I have never even seen a coyote before (outside of Roadrunner cartoons) and I was shocked at how honkin’ HUGE the dang thing was! Also? Not remotely afraid of me– which, granted I’m not that scary in person, but I waved my arms around and assumed a really threatening look on my face and he basically just yawned and flipped me the paw. Then after a short time of relaxing in the sun he casually ambled off towards the tree line.

All the while, I was frantically dialing Williamson County Animal Control (FYI, they don’t do coyotes) and then the TN Wildlife Agency, where a very nice woman with a calm voice told me that they are ‘opportunity predators’ so I might not want to let my small yappy dogs out unattended because yes, coyotes would indeed eat them. (Apparently they could be mistaken for squirrels, which to be honest I have thought that exact same thing before but I never mentioned it out loud for fear of hurting their little yappy feelings.) She also said that I needed to scare it away any time I saw it by making a loud noise, so that it would look at ME as the predator and I would be sending the message that it was not welcome in my territory, blah di blah blah… To be honest, I wasn’t paying a lot of attention at that point, I had kind of drifted off to my happy place where I was enjoying picturing myself dressed in an Alpha Coyote costume, pacing back and forth on the deck beating my chest and yelling obscenities at the terrified coyote cowering in my yard. BUT THEN I totally snapped back because I heard her say “… and you might want to think about getting an air horn.”

Hold up. An air horn? How fun would that be?!!!!

So while I’m busily Googling “air horns, Brentwood TN” please enjoy my original post, which basically consists of a bunch of unrelated photos with captions. But that’s not really my fault because I am now suffering from Post Traumatic Coyote Syndrome, and can’t possibly be expected to come up with something entertaining after almost being killed by a wild animal just a few short hours ago. Evangelistically speaking.

Anyway, enjoy!

**In food news, here is a shot of my homemade pesto sauce (from my basil plants) and the last of my summer tomatoes:

**And here are my ripening Meyer lemons– I can’t wait, they are so good! Last year SOMEONE in this house (rhymes with Schmarlotte) totally ate, like, 8 out the 11 lemons that little tree produced, right out of her hand like an orange. I’m watching their progress closely so I can get the jump on her.

**It’s that time of year again when my thoughts turn to crafts… more specifically, wreaths. I found this one on the intrawebs yesterday; it’s made out of those tamale corn husks you can get in the Hispanic section of the grocery store. Isn’t it fabulous? I just may do it! (In my spare time, between air horn solos, of course.)

** Last weekend Russ, Charlotte and I went up to the lakehouse, and one evening we drove down to the marina and went bank-fishing. The few nibbles we got were apparently from fish too small to even eat the entire worm off of the stinkin’ hook (Fish: “Oh no thanks, that’s plenty for me, I’m full…”), but it was fun anyway. Russ took these pictures of Char and I– doesn’t she have lovely fishing posture, by the way?

** And lastly, in the spirit of last week’s famous Walker’s Shoes and Cheese sign (and in honor of the incredible business names you guys told me about in the comments!), here is a sign I saw this week in Columbia, TN on the top of a restaurant that will be opening very soon. And I am totally going to eat there when they do. I love the South.