The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

There are those times in life where it feels you are being given a fresh start and an opportunity to reset, reflect, and move forward again from a different perspective.  My family and I have been given one of those opportunities through a move to a house in the country.

We had been looking to move for some time, and when this particular opportunity came up it seemed too good to be true: not far from where we currently live, but far enough to be away from the hustle and bustle, nestled on a quiet country road with lots of space for our kids to roam and explore.  We moved in around the first of the year, which makes our resolutions to purge and minimize much easier and much more urgent as we continue to decide what stays and what goes.

The views are beautiful, there are good places for writing, for drinking coffee, for writing while drinking coffee, trees for climbing, fields for running, and wildlife all around. I have always been a typical suburbanite, more accustomed to concrete than grass, and know next to nothing about country life.  The world that involves managing acres of land, propane tanks, pole barns, and wondering what to do with a water well and the septic system are all new territory to me, but that is also part of the allure. Here I find a chance to learn and appreciate something new as we start this new year.

Among our first joys in this cozy country house was meeting our nearest neighbors, whom we have affectionately named Ozzie and Harriet.  These two Cardinals appeared at our window right away, as if to welcome us to the neighborhood, and have appeared every day since.  Each morning without fail we watch them perch outside our window for a few moments to say hello, and then they are off to chase one another around the yard, until finally landing on their favorite tree branch out back.  They have been around the house longer than I have, and I hope they are willing to show me the ropes on how all this country life is supposed to happen.

I'm more than a little excited to spend my time by the window watching the adventures of these two love birds as they watch our family continue on this new adventure of our own.  I get the feeling that while we are watching them, just maybe they are watching us as well with just a bit of curiosity, waiting to see how things turn out for the new family on the other side of the window. It will be exciting to see what 2017 holds for our us and for our new friends Ozzie and Harriet.