[DutchmenSport]

We live in the country, surrounded by fields (across the road and behind the house). The crops rotate every year, and they are opposite behind and in front of the house. Beans one year, Corn the next. I love when the corn is behind the house because it makes a fantastic wall of privacy. There are a few other houses scattered around here.

It's always exciting to watch the farmers work their fields through their two year cycle, from preparing the ground in the fall after the last harvest, to prepping again in the spring, planting, cultivating, and then the growth periods. Next, watching the crop go through their annual cycle, young tender plants popping up through the dirt, maturing, turning brown and then finally the combines harvesting. And then the cycle starts over for the second year.

I'm a country boy, raised on a small farm, my first job I had where I actually got paid money from someone other than my parents was when I was 15 years old, bailing hay for a farmer down the road from my parents. At $1.00 an hour, I made $300 that summer.

If you have never lived in a country setting before.... truly a country setting .... with fields across the road from you ... you are in for a delightful new experience watching the 4 seasons and the life cycle of the community you are in.

Never, never, never get upset when you are driving down the road and get behind a farm tractor, a combine, a cultivating machine, or a load of hay on the back of a hay wagon. These guys are making their living, they work hard, and those machines cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase, operate, and upkeep. Be patient and rather than getting upset because you are forced for follow a slow moving vehicle, step back, .... take in the moment .... and gain a new appreciation for the life-style surrounding you.

Congrats on your new work assignment. I guarantee you, after 2 years of living in your current environment, returning to a state park campground or a commercialized private campground like KOA will seem like returning to the Las Vegas strip!