Culture Shock 67

In California,  I had to change the windshield wipers on my car every year. In Mississippi, I am finding this to be the case as well.

Why? Why even mention such a mundane, ordinary maintenance type thing? Why does it matter? Why is it a shock that it is the same here in Mississippi as it is in California?

In California, I had to change the wipers because the heat and dry weather made them unusable. They would sometimes shrivel up and other times the rubber would crack. Either way, they were useless garbage.

In Mississippi,  the wipers are simply used up. It rains so much and so hard here that the wipers just don't have any wipe left in them!

Time to head to the car shop as we prepare for winter ice.

Culture Shock 66

Tonight, I was reminded of when I first came to Mississippi 17 months ago.

My husband had taken us on a twilight walk of our property. It was July. It was a gorgeous night. It was peaceful and beautiful.

Tonight, in December, it was cold. It was pitch black out. The now 2 year old was screaming for chocolate.

What was the same? What triggered my memory of such a sweet family time? What could possibly make the two nights comparable?

Bobcat. One word. One cat. Something wild. Something unknown. Bobcat.

That night in July of 2013 had ended with a growl, a rush to the house, an internet search and a confirmation that we had walked very close to a bobcat and her den.

This December night is being spent in worry as we spotted a bobcat stalking our chickens the night before.  The dogs are sleeping inside because of the cold, but I was petrified to retrieve them from their kennel this evening because of a bobcat. The dogs run is a good 100 feet from the house with no lights to guide the way.

I know bobcats don't attack people. I looked it up!  It's just the fear of the dark and the unknown, of the wild and the cold.

The most wild animal I ever had in my backyard in California was a turkey.