Life Lessons

  As a child, I don’t think I ever considered what life as an adult was like. The main point that I understood as a child was that adults were in charge, and that I was not.  So, I basically tried to do what I was told and stay out of trouble.  I guess I was so ensconced in my own day-to-day activity that I didn’t really give it much thought.  My childhood days were spent running around the family farm, visiting Grandma and Granddaddy Rieley who lived next door; and, of course, my favorite pastime….rescuing any willing barn cats that were need of some tender loving care. I suppose if I really think about it, the thing that I most associated with being an adult was being busy.  I grew up on a farm, and all of the adults around me were always busy doing something:  Busy planting a garden, getting-up hay, watering the garden, mowing the grass, weeding the garden, picking vegetables, picking black raspberries, making jam or preserves, fixing a fence, painting the front porch or a shed roof, snapping beans, husking corn, canning beans, making a cobbler, repairing the tractor, planting flowers, pruning and grafting fruit trees, cleaning out the barn—-you get the picture.  There is always something to do on a farm! I have so many fond memories of watching as well as helping my parents and grandparents perform these everyday activities.  I especially loved holding […]

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The Weekly Bleat: Remembering Maine and Edna St. Vincent Millay

I would like to dedicate this post to my husband’s 102 year-old grandfather.  He is affectionately known as “Bump” or “Bumpy” to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, because he always bumped foreheads to say goodnight when tucking them into bed at the family’s summer retreat in Maine.  “Camp,” as this summer place is lovingly called, has been an important part of […]

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A Lesson

As a child growing up on Green Hill Farm there were two things that I looked forward to the most: visiting with Grandma and Granddaddy Rieley and summer time.  One thing that I liked best was neither required dressy outfits or shoes.  I also relished the freedom of an undetermined day, one without rules or routines.  I’d run around on the farm sometimes barefoot and still in my pajamas, or a mismatched outfit chosen by me; one which usually included an article of clothing made of terry-cloth, a Mork and Mindy tee-shirt and maybe even knee socks.  I probably resembled something akin to a cross between Little Orphan Annie and a peasant.  Nevertheless, I didn’t care.  I had Grandma to visit, stuff to get into, and I was comfortable–a formula that equalled happiness in my world.  Of course, those days are long gone, because I’d never go outside today without at least a pair of flip flops on my feet.  I also don’t wear terry cloth shorts or knee-socks anymore, either–at least, not together.  However, I still prefer jeans and tee-shirts to dressy outfits, and I’m known to wear my pajamas outside the house on occasion (but never off the farm).  As for those undetermined days, well, I still love them, because you just never know who you may meet or what you might learn. It was a glorious summer day like the ones depicted in those old Country Time […]

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Christmas Memories

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” –Charles Dickens “Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” –Laura Ingalls Wilder I love this time of year–beautiful music, snow, twinkling lights, festive decorations […]

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A Lesson

As a child growing up on Green Hill Farm there were two things that I looked forward to the most: visiting with Grandma and Granddaddy Rieley and summer time.  One thing that I liked best was neither required dressy outfits or shoes.  I also relished the freedom of an undetermined day, one without rules or routines.  I’d run around on […]

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