Being outdoors is always relaxing for us. Even when we are out working up a sweat and pouring all our energy into climbing a mountain, at the end of the day we always breathe easier and find our spirits relaxed and renewed. And "outdoors" doesn't always mean "in the mountains," "in the park," "on the trail," or "climbing that mountain." Outdoors, for us, is just that simple. It means being outside the confines of walls. So, after a small hike today, we wanted to spend some relaxing time in our backyard by our flint-ringed fire pit soaking in the breeze, the smell of wood burning, and the tree frogs that sing non-stop this time of the year.
We don't really live too far from the city, but we're definitely rural. And when I say rural I mean, we can look up and see a million stars, we can close our eyes and try to count crickets chirping, we can listen to the fire crackle, and if we're really lucky, we can even hear the bloodcurdling calls of a barn owl or red fox.
But not tonight.
Because tonight, as we sit by our fire trying to relax for the week ahead (and burn up all the dead fall from last week's storms) we are being serenaded (once again) by our lovely neighbors who illegally operate a business in a subdivision in which they apparently must rev engines for hours, run diesel trucks that sound like high-powered generators, and mow their lawn at 10pm on a Sunday.
So, yes, consider this post a rant, at best. But it's very odd that we also live beside a legally-operated vehicle repair garage that never bothers us with this constant noise. Matter of fact, I rarely hear them even during business hours.
We just want our peace and quiet back. Is that too much to ask for? At least after dark? Please?
