When you live in the city most of the houses face the street in some fashion or the other, and it is customary for visitors to park on the street or in the driveway, and approach the front door for entry. That being the norm, I've seen some beautiful front yards, porches, and entryways. People spend thousands of dollars installing just the right landscaping, enhanced by just the right ambient lighting, to form the most gracious entrances to their homes.
We lived in that environment for many years, and likewise, spent countless hours and countless dollars to create the perfect approach to our home. It seemed very important at the time, and besides, one had to keep up with the Jones' place next door where every blade of grass was trimmed to perfection, and every lovely shrub was exquisitely pruned as well. It takes hours of work each week to keep a 70' X 150' yard "presentable", so finally I just gave up! No, I didn't let my yard go native and bring in the goats to keep it groomed. Like Eddie Albert, I simply decided that country living was the life for me and moved to the ranch.....Miss Elizabeth came along for the ride, and I'm still not sure she's convinced the decision was for the best. Ah, but I digress....
When you build a house in the country there aren't many rules to follow, no set-back lines from the street, no minimum or maximum square footage, no requirements as to which way to face the house, no homeowners' associations, and most of all, no neighbors out clipping their grass with a pair of scissors. I guess you could say the competition for the best kept yard came down a notch....or maybe two. In fact, I can scan the horizon in all four directions and not see a single house. Bliss to some, to others an absolute nightmare. For me, the quiet serenity of life in the country is wonderful.
Again, I've drifted from my initial train of thought.....some say that's quite normal for me, but I think it's just a sign; Of what I'm not sure, but a sign nevertheless. Anyway, to get back on track, now that we live in the country the front door is rarely used by the occasional visitor to our home. In fact, I can probably count on both hands the number of people who have graced that entry. Our driveway meanders through the trees, past the front of the house and ends up delivering our visitors on the side of the house opposite from the road. Therefore, friends and family routinely announce their arrival at our back door. Like they say, back door friends are the best anyway.
I had sensed that something was afoot, and yesterday morning, Miss Elizabeth suggested that we "spruce up" the back entry since it's the one most seen by our visitors.......WHAT? Didn't we leave all that behind us when we left the city? I guess not, because I spent the better part of my Saturday afternoon putting a fresh coat of green paint on what was a perfectly acceptable white door. Then, the better part of the evening was spent "watching the paint dry" to ensure it was the proper color....Oh dear!
I must admit, however, that it did warm things up a bit.....made it a little more inviting than before....now if we'd just add some flagstone walkways, a couple of new shrubs, and some of those directional lights......Oh my gosh, I think it's the return of my worst nightmare, proving once again, what do I know?
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