Another brilliant piece of timing by Amy in choosing Countryside for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week! Last weekend we rented a log cabin in the Wisconsin countryside (a first) so the whole family could get together. Daughters, spouses, grandkids and us, experiencing the joys of country living, at least for a couple of days. As someone once said, “It’s a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.” Don’t get me wrong. We had a wonderful time but there are just some things that I cannot get used to.
The bugs! My God! The bugs!! If nothing else, the size and quantity of bugs in the countryside make this city girl want to stay close to the city. When we arrived at the cabin we were greeted by screams and shrieks coming from inside. “Aaaagh! Kill it! Kill it!” This coming from the kid who once travelled up the Amazon in Peru and trekked through the jungle in Thailand. Even she was having a hard time dealing with the bugs in Wisconsin.
I don’t know why it is, but I feel far less comfortable in the countryside than I do in the city. My imagination seems to get the better of me and my nightmares threaten to become a reality. Speaking of nightmares, I have this recurring one where I am walking in the country and suddenly come upon a wild animal, usually a lion. I don’t doubt there is a psychological explanation for it but it makes me very nervous when I’m hiking through the woods.
Everything seems to take on a sinister appearance in the countryside and my fear of birds takes on an added dimension.
Even the most innocuous country scene promises to hide some new danger. Was that a bear I saw lurking among the bushes?
We were obliged to take refuge in the cabin for several hours one afternoon when we heard the sound of someone taking target practice close by. Apparently I feel far less threatened by all the shooting that takes place in Chicago, even though, looking at it logically, the odds are probably in my favor here in the Wisconsin countryside. And I probably stand more chance of being mauled to death by a pit bull in Chicago than I do of being dispatched by a bear in Wisconsin. But there it is. Give me the city over the countryside every time, except for short visits.
The Nature of Things 
I had no idea about the bugs in the Wisconsin countryside, OMG… I love the photos you made though. 🙂 “the most innocuous country scene promises to hide some new danger.”, so true!
Thank you for sharing your perspectives and cool photos!
Thank you, Amy! This was such a fun challenge even though I am something of a pessimist when it comes to the countryside.
This challenge give us a chance to see the countryside from different part of the countries. 🙂 your photos are beautiful, the first two are very cool!
Bugs are a definite downside of life in the country but considering the loss of insect life over here, I am gad that you are still meeting them.
There still seem to be plenty of them here, although I have to admit that the ones in the picture were taken in our neck of the woods in Chicago. I’m not sure what the bugs were that we encountered in Wisconsin but they were big and ugly.
Amazing work and a good narrative, Sue!!
Thanks, Indira! Even my little granddaughter, who lives in the city and is used to hearing sirens and all kinds of noise, had her hands over her ears when the blue jays started screeching, which I thought was really funny.
Fun response to the challenge.
Thank you!
That is so funny, Sue. I love your collages. Everything in moderation, right? 🙂
Thanks, Tracy! Yes, a little countryside goes a long way.
We moved from the city to the countryside 3 years ago and you couldn’t pay me enough to go back – EVER! We’ve come to terms with all the bugs and other critters (squirrels, chipmunks, foxes, opossums, skunks, coyotes and dozens of birds) that share our acreage (my husband has even gotten over his fear of snakes and doesn’t scream like a girl anymore when he encounters one basking in the sun on top of his wood pile!) Once you accept that these creatures and just “doing their own thing”, its easy to learn to live with them! Lovely collages!
Thanks, Margo! I think I would have enjoyed settling in the English countryside. I remember visiting my grandparents who lived in Kent when I was a child and loved my time there. It seemed a much gentler place, but then maybe it was just the times we were living in back then. I feel like where we are now is a good compromise. Close enough to the city to enjoy all the things that it has to offer, while still seeing all the critters that you mentioned here in the Chicago suburbs.
Cool and clever collages- very imaginative – quite scary too!
Thanks, Marianne! I thought I’d have a little fun with this one.