Grand Dad D's Farm
Spending time at the Grand Parents is always special. There was the creek. The barn was bigger and one building even had an upstairs that Grand Dad used for a shop. There were old tools and stored equipment that made exploring a lot of fun. And even a smokehouse, that still smelled like smoke. There was a large dinner bell that we weren't allowed to ring. Grand Mom said it would bring the neighbors running thinking there was a fire. I think she just didn't want the noise. Grand Mom had a large garden and a seperate flower garden. There were gooseberry bushes too. My brother J could eat gooseberries raw. They can make you pucker even more than lemons. Grand Mom raised chickens too. So I got to gather eggs and then go to the basement to sort them on the scale. The basement had a back room and a coal bin, no longer used, with black bits of left over coal. And that big old furnace with the door that opened so you could see the flames.
I loved her rose garden. And she protected her spiders. They ate the aphids, and we were not allowed to bother the black and yellow golden orb weaver that was in the rose garden every year. At the back of the house was a foundation that indicated the house had been bigger at one time. I asked GrandDad once if it had been a porch. He told me that before they bought the farm, there had been a fire and the back of the house had burned. He even told me someone had died in the fire, and when the back of the house had been rebuilt the area where they had died had been left off. It made the kitchen long and narrow where it had originally been wider. When I was little, I got to spend a week each summer with them. Grand Mom was a small woman, but she sure acted big. She could do anything by herself and she ruled her family with an iron fist. She controlled her sons with the threat of a broom. Dad told us that she used to sew patches of corn onto their knees, so they wouldn't crawl around and wear out the knees in their pants. She raised 4 sons and no daughters. When she and I were together we sang a lot. She loved "In The Garden" When she died, Grand Dad asked me to sing it at her funeral. I was 29 that year, and if he wanted me to sing, I would sing. I hope it was ok, it wasn't easy.
Grand Dad had a horse named Redwing. Redwing had been a race horse and wanted to run. Dad told me Redwing could never be ridden with another horse, because he always had to be in front and every ride ended up in a race. But, when we were little, Redwing was the only horse on the farm, and he was into his 20's. Grand Dad could put me up on his back and walk around and Redwing walked right at his shoulder. I never rode him alone. I did see Redwing dump my father in the creek one time. He ran hard at the creek, then stopped abruptly instead of jumping or going in. It was that pasture that Redwing usually stayed in.
The creek was in a field across the highway from the house and barns. Quite a distance to walk when we were little. But, we always begged an adult to go with us because we weren't allowed to go alone till we were older. Dad and Uncle D were working on a fence on the other side of the creek one hot summer day. Grandmom fixed a jug of lemonade and led me across the highway (I was about 5) and then let me go alone to give the men a drink. I got to the creek and Dad told me to stop and take my shoes off. He didn't want me to get my shoes wet. So, I sat down on the grass and started to reach for my shoe. Something was moving underneath me. I looked down and discovered I was sitting on a big black snake. I screamed and jumped straight up and went straight across the creek and climbed up my Uncle's leg because he was closer. I was clinging to Uncle D with a death grip and he couldn't peal me off. They finally got the story out of me and calmed me down. Uncle D was still holding me and Dad said I was in trouble if I got my shoes wet. Uncle D started laughing and told Dad my shoes were still dry. I had crossed that creek without touching the water. But the jug was still on the other side, and I would not go back to get it. One of them had to take his shoes off to get the lemonade. I'm not really afraid of snakes, or rats, or bats....but I want to see them FIRST and I don't want to sit on or have one climb my leg or be dive bombed by one. Or, I just might have to walk on water again.
I loved her rose garden. And she protected her spiders. They ate the aphids, and we were not allowed to bother the black and yellow golden orb weaver that was in the rose garden every year. At the back of the house was a foundation that indicated the house had been bigger at one time. I asked GrandDad once if it had been a porch. He told me that before they bought the farm, there had been a fire and the back of the house had burned. He even told me someone had died in the fire, and when the back of the house had been rebuilt the area where they had died had been left off. It made the kitchen long and narrow where it had originally been wider. When I was little, I got to spend a week each summer with them. Grand Mom was a small woman, but she sure acted big. She could do anything by herself and she ruled her family with an iron fist. She controlled her sons with the threat of a broom. Dad told us that she used to sew patches of corn onto their knees, so they wouldn't crawl around and wear out the knees in their pants. She raised 4 sons and no daughters. When she and I were together we sang a lot. She loved "In The Garden" When she died, Grand Dad asked me to sing it at her funeral. I was 29 that year, and if he wanted me to sing, I would sing. I hope it was ok, it wasn't easy.
Grand Dad had a horse named Redwing. Redwing had been a race horse and wanted to run. Dad told me Redwing could never be ridden with another horse, because he always had to be in front and every ride ended up in a race. But, when we were little, Redwing was the only horse on the farm, and he was into his 20's. Grand Dad could put me up on his back and walk around and Redwing walked right at his shoulder. I never rode him alone. I did see Redwing dump my father in the creek one time. He ran hard at the creek, then stopped abruptly instead of jumping or going in. It was that pasture that Redwing usually stayed in.
The creek was in a field across the highway from the house and barns. Quite a distance to walk when we were little. But, we always begged an adult to go with us because we weren't allowed to go alone till we were older. Dad and Uncle D were working on a fence on the other side of the creek one hot summer day. Grandmom fixed a jug of lemonade and led me across the highway (I was about 5) and then let me go alone to give the men a drink. I got to the creek and Dad told me to stop and take my shoes off. He didn't want me to get my shoes wet. So, I sat down on the grass and started to reach for my shoe. Something was moving underneath me. I looked down and discovered I was sitting on a big black snake. I screamed and jumped straight up and went straight across the creek and climbed up my Uncle's leg because he was closer. I was clinging to Uncle D with a death grip and he couldn't peal me off. They finally got the story out of me and calmed me down. Uncle D was still holding me and Dad said I was in trouble if I got my shoes wet. Uncle D started laughing and told Dad my shoes were still dry. I had crossed that creek without touching the water. But the jug was still on the other side, and I would not go back to get it. One of them had to take his shoes off to get the lemonade. I'm not really afraid of snakes, or rats, or bats....but I want to see them FIRST and I don't want to sit on or have one climb my leg or be dive bombed by one. Or, I just might have to walk on water again.
posted by LeeAnn | 6:01 PM
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