The Lighter Side of Rural Life

Across the Fence #386

My brother, David, remarked that he looked out the window one night last winter and saw the neighbors yard light with the snow coming down. It reminded him of the farm. As soon as he mentioned seeing the snow and yard light it also brought back memories to me.

It can be very dark in the country. The lack of streetlights and houses grouped together, as you find in cities, contributes to the darkness that envelops the countryside. We aren’t inundated with light pollution that’s very visible around urban areas. Linda noticed the darkness when we first moved to the country, compared to the light pollution we were used to in Madison.

At least those of us who live in the country, now have electricity and lights. Before the 1930s very few farms had lights. Lanterns provided the light for houses and barns. People carried a lantern when they went from the house to the barn, or the outhouse, in the evening. All the modern conveniences like electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and telephones, didn’t become available to most rural people, until much later than their urban cousins. It was, and still is, much more profitable for companies to provide service to high population areas than to widely scattered rural areas.

I always remember having electricity on the farm, but lanterns were still used in some rooms when I was young. I remember because I got to help trim the wicks and clean the soot out of the glass chimney. Filling them with kerosene was a grown-up job.

The only light available in our barn came from a single light hanging from an extension cord in the center of the barn. We certainly didn’t waste electricity. It got pretty dark in the far corners of that barn.

I think most farms had a yard light. It was mounted at the top of a pole located between the house and barn. Our yard light could be turned on or off from the house or the barn.

That old yard light was an important part of our farm. We spent many nights sitting in the yard during the summer when it was unbearably hot inside the house. Most people didn’t have air conditioning. The evening breeze was a welcome relief as we sat in lawn chairs or reclined in the cool grass of the lawn. We usually had the yard light on and there were numerous bugs swarming around it. In early summer, the large June Bugs made their appearance. There were literally thousands of them. There were so many on the gravel driveway under the light that you couldn’t walk to the barn without hearing them crunch under your feet. I hadn’t seen any for years until last summer, when a few showed up on our driveway. They’re still just as ugly looking as I remembered. Although I guess I shouldn’t call a poor bug ugly. I’m sure they’re attractive to other June Bugs.

Other night visitors that swooped and dived over the lawn were bats. I suspect they were after the mosquitoes and not us, but we knew they often had rabies, so they weren’t a favorite night visitor. You could see their dark silhouettes darting into the light cast from the yard light and then disappearing into the darkness again. We sat in the dark shadows of the maple trees we rested under. I hoped they couldn’t see us, but bats have very good night vision.

Those summer nights sitting on the lawn, under the trees next to the yard light, also brought us all the sounds of the night. It’s very quiet in the country and you can hear the many sounds. The sound of the windmill pumping water was a welcome sound on a humid, summer evening. Pigeons in the haymow of the barn could be heard softly cooing. In early evening, the call of the Kildeers in the nearby fields was heard. When the wind was from the southwest, the sound of frogs serenading each other was heard from the pond in the back forty. Crickets always joined in the evening symphony. The night was filled with sounds, but they were natural, soothing sounds. I’d often lie in the cool grass in the darkness under the trees and enjoy all the sounds while watching the bugs and bats swirling around the yard light. On nights when the moon shone brightly, we’d leave the yard light off and let the moonlight provide our light. On those nights I also enjoyed the millions of stars overhead. Summer nights before air conditioning were special.

Winter provided a different magic. When we turned the yard light on we could see the snowflakes swirling in the light, just like David mentioned. The light made the snow on the ground sparkle like millions of diamonds. When it wasn’t a howling blizzard or bitterly cold, it created a magical winter wonderland. We always turned the yard light on before heading for the barn and it stayed on until the last person entered the porch after milking was done. I liked to look out the window from the shelter of the porch, and see the snow falling in the light before turning the yard light off.

That yard light really did create many magical moments for us.

*