Memories Of My Country Home

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Growing up in the country was a very special experience for me.  I am by no means a country girl; I love the city which I chose to live in now.   But with that being said I am a bit torn and my heart longs for simpler time. A time when a dandelion was magical...

This lovely print was found on ETSY shop TML Creations at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/tmlCREATIONS?ref=seller_info

and time when a hay bail could be a jungle gym...

This wonderful photograph was found in  ETSY shop Little Bird Treasures at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleBirdTreasures?ref=seller_info

I have such beautiful romantic memories of long walks in the hot summer afternoons waiting for the cherished breeze to come by and cool me.  I would play long hours in our creek that was full of high weeds and as I waded through the icy cold water and looked up I could pretend that I was in a different land.  Light filtered through the tall grass overhead, it looked hazy and hot but in my little world of frogs and tad poles it was cool.

This sweet photograph was found on ETSY shop McClark 23118 at http://www.etsy.com/shop/mclark23118?ref=seller_info

When the blackberries were ripe each day I would take an old ice cream bucket up to the woods and try to fill it full.  I never ate them as I picked because I knew that there were many treats to be made.  My Grandmother Lily was a country girl; she worked very hard to stay on the land that she loved.  While she allowed me to indulge in such whimsy, she herself worked endlessly harvesting and reaping what her acres of land provided. 

This wonderful oil painting was found on ETSY shop Word Weaver Art At
http://www.etsy.com/people/WordWeaverArt?ref=ls_profile

My grandmother would spend tireless hours in her wondrous gardens hand tilling, sewing and tending to them lovingly.  She had an amazing green thumb that was the envy of all who knew her.  There was corn so tall and straight bearing plump lush cobs of corn, bright orange carrots, and beautiful purple beets.  I think that I learned to love vegetables simply from seeing their pretty plants and spectacular colors as she pulled them from ground and plucked them from the vine.

The gardens that my grandmother started and I continued until 5 years ago...My country home.

The yard was filled with gardens each flower lovingly cared for by my grandmother.  She didn't have a lot of money but she was resourceful.  What she couldn't buy she would make; master seamstress, needleworker, crafter, gardener, chef, baker, pianist...and the list could go on endlessly.  My beautiful Grandma Lily passed when I was just 7 years old.  But in those seven years that I had with her she taught me more about life and the gifts God gave me than any teacher of any school I attended.  She taught me to never take for granted anything given to you, to always look around you and to appreciate life, to see the beauty in everything and everyone, and that all things have a purpose. 

This beautiful photograph was found on ETSY shop First Light Photo at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/firstlightphoto?ref=seller_info

So while I truly enjoy all of the conveniences and excitement that surrounds me in my city a little part of my heart sill always belong to my country home.  Today is a day where I am truly missing my grandmother.  I miss the times she would tell me stories about the plants and insects in the garden while she tended her plants.  And I miss the long walks through the acres of hills and meadows where I grew up.