When Upon Life's Billows...

In May, our 2 year 'anniversary' of being approved by the MD to have a trailer out on Scott and Janie's property came up at the exact same time that our tenants in our house in Cochrane moved out, so Tyler and I were faced with the decision whether to remain out here, or move back to Cochrane. We have spent almost 3 years out here, and have loved and hated a lot of it. The love parts are easy: the great outdoors, quiet, a beautiful view, and being close to family. The hates: frozen pipes in the winter, dripping roof in the spring, and a house that feels like a furnace in the summer...but we've taken it all in stride, making slight improvements as the budget would allow. Now that we have the home in a fairly liveable state, we were feeling a dilemma. Since we haven't received our approval from the MD yet, this may be a moot point, but we've decided we enjoy living out here...and try to look at the bright side of every situation.
We got snowed in a number of times this winter, as the wind howls out here and drifts the snow half-ways up our front door...Scott purchased a VERY well used snow blower at the beginning of winter, and are we ever grateful he did! It was frustrating a few times to get stuck....and then stuck again...and yet again. But we had plenty of times to step outside and build snowmen, or have a family snow-fight, or let the kids practice their skiing without driving to the slopes.I spent a lot of time in the fall laying sod, planting bulbs and cedar bushes, looking forward greatly to the 'after' shot I would take of my yard in the spring. Well, one of the lows of living here, is things are a bit more 'wild' and 'frontier'-like than in town. Instead of the beautiful garden I was hoping for, I've got a lawn that is about half and half, and 10 cedar trees that would make Charlie Brown's tree look lush...thanks to the deer, who had a pretty rough winter out here in frontierland and were appreciative of the buffet I left for them.The plus side though, is that my garden (two small flowers beds, now heavily protected with chicken wire to fend off any hungry deer) is coming along nicely. My tulips are starting to open, and I planted a few more 'who-knows-what-they-are' flowers (because I like the look, but can't be bothered remembering the names). Plus, the kids and I went for a walk around the property today to check out the bird-houses that were set up last year, and discovered some tiny little homes. I'm not sure what kind of birds are responsible for these nests, but we see a lot of bluebirds flying around.
This morning grandma was working in her garden. The kids exclaimed "Grandma!" with pure joy as they ran up the hill to see her. They get plenty of time to play with their aunties and to be goofy in ways I could never come up with. I can put up with some drifting snow, deer, and questionable plumbing to give my children experiences like that. The best part? A family reunion is no more effort then opening your front door. Ah bliss.