My foliage filled yard. This is taken from my side patio.
BLOG-Making Moves: Home in a New Home
- Published: September 12, 2017
Whenever I spend an extended period of time in a new environment, I find myself looking for comfort spots where I know I will be able to go when I need to take a breather. Even in this village, where everywhere feels as if it’s meant to be comforting, I found myself identifying my yard as my own little oasis within an oasis.
When I think of this yard, I think of the quiet, dew-y grass summer mornings where I have spent far too much time trying to convince my pup its time to use the restroom. She would take her loving time sniffing every single thing around her before deciding it’s time to use the restroom. After that seemingly insurmountable task was completed, we’d trot back to the house and I’d wipe the wet grass off her little feet and I’d start my morning routine, half awake, but happy.
I think about all the little fireflies that gathered every evening this summer, seemingly coordinating with the crickets to put on a little performance nightly. They remind me of my childhood, where my cues to return home were the same choreographed routines from the lightning bugs, crickets and street lamps. As my sister and I would make our way back home, I always had a sense of calm because I found comfort in our routine. Our tired little bodies would walk in the door, have a hot shower, don our Spongebob pajamas and bargain to watch Fear Factor with our parents even though it was late for a Monday night.
I think about the small stream that runs through the rear of my yard, shrouded in drooping branches and thicket. It makes me feel like I’m 7 again, racing my cousins breathlessly down Nana and Grandpa’s front yard. We would sprint down to the creek, which was technically their neighbors, and take turns swiping butterfly nets through the clear running water. We’d hop back and forth, giggling and hoping the neighbors wouldn’t yell at us again for playing in their creek.
I think about how I’ve watched (from a healthy distance because I am not that cool with spiders) a really meaty spider create his own very large home sprawling from a tree branch to the tangled ferns below. At that point, I was still having a hard time figuring out where I fit into this place. I decided that if a gross big spider can make a home here, then surely there is nothing stopping me from staking my claim here as well. I understand that this one probably sounds melodramatic, but it is what it is.
Lastly, I think about the adorable doe and her baby that use my yard as a bridge between the woods and the town. I don’t even have to go outside to enjoy this aspect of my yard, actually. Periodically the doe will come near my sliding door and stare inside right at me. She doesn’t seem to be scared, either. Every time she stops, I notice her large body is just a little closer and she stares for just a little longer. I like that she’s becoming just comfortable here as I am.
*Jessica Sees is an Ohio University student interning with the News.
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