I remember my mother-in-law using this phrase years ago in conversation with me, trying to explain why there was dust around the house. At the time, I didn't understand what she meant, thought that maybe she was implying there were more relaxed standards on housekeeping "in the country" vs. "town."
I now know that that wasn't what she'd meant at all, but I've had to live here at Struan Farm to understand that. (And Robertsons are far too nice to hit you over the head to make their point, something else I've learned since then too.)
"In the country" there are bugs and dirt everywhere. Flies, spiders, bees/wasps abound. Flies come with sheep, and vice versa. So you're contending with dead bugs dropping their carcasses inside the house for a large part of the year, along with cobwebs. Working outside in the gardens and around the farm, you bring dirt into the house no matter how hard you try to avoid doing so. Shoes are left outside, that goes without saying. And forget those fashionable town sandals and shoes on the farm, they get trashed and are totally impractical. Sorry Mr. Ferragamo!
"In the country" you could literally spend all your time cleaning if you wanted to live in an immaculate house. But who wants to do that? Cleaning gets done when it gets done, of course.
Mice and rats happen too. Guests from town leave doors open, and at certain times of the year the mice run straight for those open doors to nest and poop and run around partying at night, at least until you pull the plug on their festivities. Traps need to be set, they travel in pairs like Noah's Ark. And if you don't put rat poison under the house every few months you might hear rats rustling around below at night, sometimes crunching away on the wood. I used to be far more squeamish about them than I am now. "It's the country," pests happen from time to time, and they have to be dealt with.
So I'm smiling, remembering Rosemary's gentle words of wisdom. They took awhile to sink in, but I get it now and will try to pass it on. It's the country, after all!
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