The thrill isn't gone

I moved to Madison County, Georgia three years ago next week. It has taken a while to become accustomed to the South's customs. I suppose that it has taken my friends and acquaintances a while to get used to my accent. But the things I thought I would love about Georgia haven't diminished with familiarity, they have grown.

In Maine, it is cold most of the year. Too cold to have windows open. Too cold at some points to even go outside. To save on very high energy bills, it is common to seal the windows over with plastic sheeting to prevent drafts. Sealed in for most of the year...and the big day when we punch through the plastic to open the first window of spring is almost ecstatic in a reverent kind of way.

How sad to be sealed off from the sound of the birds and the rain and the leaves quaking n the summer breeze! How sad to turn our lives inward to the couch and the musty stale air of a place sealed in for too long! I love that I can lay on the bed in mid-September with windows open and the temperature in the apartment just right and listen to the rain and the cars splashing through puddles. Above, Bert and Luke appreciate the outside smells.

In Gray, Maine right now it is 50 degrees. In Comer, GA it is 70 degrees. I raise my windows in March and don't close them until October. In Maine it is the opposite. Yeah, the thrill isn't gone. Georgia is great.