In the country

Waking up to the sound of birds, to the sight of a forest, to the smell of fresh air, is more than restorative, it seems necessary.  I think of what it would be like if I were in the city right now, at 7:30 AM.  The sound of the men setting up their construction, the subway under my feet,  cars, trucks, taxis, horns honking, the smell of the heat and ozone, diesel fuel particulate accumulating on my window sill.

There are trucks laboring their way up hill in the woods to build a new development somewhere.

But in the city, I guess what we don't have here in the country, is lots and lots of people with lots and lots of needs.  They need to eat so there are restaurants on every corner, a grocery store every few blocks.  They need to get dressed, and live somewhere, more shops, apartment buildings reaching the sky.  They need to get from place to place, so there are subways and buses and taxis and roads and traffic lights.  They need to use the toilet and their sinks and their bathtubs so there are sewer lines. They need to read at night so there is electricity.  They need to cool themselves so there are air conditioners and fans and the electrical grid is amazing.

Here where there are not as many people,  there are birds, lots of trees to house them and give them food. The squirrels do not beg from me as they do in Central Park.