More Than Manure

Country living sure has its upsides, but there are negatives too. Aside from the longer drives for just about anything, and contrary to what might seem logical, rural US cities have a significant problem with drugs and other societal ills. It's kind of hard to imagine, but I guess it makes sense that the country is an ideal place to get away from prying neighbors (who might report you) and it is cheap to live, so it kind of attracts some evildoers. You don't really see it, but the folks who live here know it is going on and casually mention the problems in conversations.
Yesterday our new bishop mentioned how he knows all this is out there, but it never affects him. We also have some members of our ward who are obvious reformed lawbreakers, so that is a small reminder too. Yesterday on the way home from church, we drove up a gravel road near our home and unfortunately, there were some homes back in there that seemed like they were the types of place where that sort of thing might take place. You don't want to paint with too broad a brush, but I believe there is some validity in the stereotype attached to the mobile home in the front yard of the old mobile home which is in the front yard of the older mobile home which is in front of the old-older mobile home and surrounded by a wagon-circle of trash and inoperable vehicles and assorted trash.
I guess it is just a lesson to be learned for when we get the compound going - either buy a large-enough tract that you can completely isolate yourself, or pony up to get into a nicer neighborhood where the neighbors isolate you from it. It's also making me rethink the issue of whether we need a gigantic big mean dog to keep around our place. I am not a big fan of steaming dooky piles left akimbo throughout the yard, but they might make me feel more comfortable leaving the family out there alone. Plus, my brother Mark seems to think that stinky dog poo is a product of the cheap processed dog food folks buy these days. Maybe a dog which were to eat purely chicken/fish and assorted table scraps would produce a more olfactory neutral offal?

PS - you might want to reread this entire post pronouncing "dog" with an sharp and hard Scottish "o" so it sounds more like "doeg" - it will make the reading more enjoyable and will serve to preserve the true essence of my intentions.