The Tulip Stealer in the Tulip Patch

Right outside the kitchen door of my grandparent's farmhouse there used to be a tulip patch. I don't remember it growing up. I've only heard the stories-especially the ones concerning my older brother who was the first grandchild and who loved that tulip patch. Despite being told not to pick those beautiful, happy flowers he couldn't resist them and neither could anyone resist taking a tulip when he offered one. Dressed in his little short and sweater outfit with that little cap on his head and with his red hair and freckles, he won the adults over every time.

The backdrop in this photo offers another glimpse of my grandfather's barn and opposite that-the granary. Although it's just a partial glimpse of the barn it instills the comforting feeling of the family farm and how family would gather and enjoy the simple things-like a tulip patch complete with a tulip stealer. Before heading up the small incline to those buildings there was a wide area of flat rock which provided yet another source of fun for us as we grew up. Once our imaginations took over, that flat rock turned into anything we wanted it to be. After a rainfall, the puddles left behind offered even more of an opportunity for play!

The barn, the granary, and the tulip patch are all gone now. That's why old, glossy photos are treasures to be savored and appreciated.They recorded a history in their own, unique way for after taking the photos you had to wait-and wait to see which ones developed. And when you finally got them back, the anticipation of opening up that envelope and seeing your photos was like Christmas morning. Anticipation is good. You appreciate all the more what you receive.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Pinch of This and A Dash of That

Image
I recently made a few Raspberry Pies following my grandmother's recipe that is included in a cookbook featuring her recipes. It was put together by her oldest daughter. One of six daughters. I love using her recipes. They are quite simple. Basic. Born out of an era of raising a family on a farm where meals were homemade, and work and chores were nonstop and produce came from the garden, some of that produce eventually canned or stored in a root cellar. In a few of my grandmother's recipes, her instructions include words such as a pinch, a dash, a sprinkle or a hint as ways of measurement of certain ingredients. In the Raspberry Pie recipe, her instruction was to add a pinch of salt. Before, when coming upon that particular instruction, I would put a little bit of salt in a bowl or on a plate and take a pinch of it. Then add the pinch to the other ingredients. But this time I was curious. For whatever the reason, I asked Mr. Google what the instruction for a Pinch of an ingredie
Read more

Those Small Milk Cartons With Straws

Image
I can't remember what elementary grade I was in when taking a morning break to enjoy a small, sometimes cold and sometimes not so cold small container of whole milk with my classmates. The Milk Break was part of the daily schedule. I do remember how good it tasted. The milk didn't come in flavors. Not even chocolate. There was no fat free or calcium enriched or soybean milk. Just whole milk in individual cartons.  The cartons were either opened by the teacher and then the student put a straw into the milk or there was a sealed hole in the carton and either the student or teacher pushed a straw through the hole. Straws were not fancy or colored. They did not have brand names or licensed characters on them. They did not have loops, making it possible to watch the milk go around the loops as a student sucked on the straw. They did not come wrapped in cellophane attached to the carton.  Instead, the teacher would walk around each table full of students, stopping beside each student
Read more

Oh Those Netted Crinolines

Image
I hardly ever wore crinolines under my skirts way back when wearing crinolines underneath skirts was the fad. Not participating in a fad was unusual for me. After all, I ran to a department store located in the downtown of where I lived  the moment Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" grabbed my attention. I had to have bellbottoms and short-sleeved ribbed sweaters. I had to grow my hair down to my waist. But crinolines were a different story. I didn't like all of that netting. I didn't like my skirts pushed way out in front of me even when most of my friends wore crinolines all the time.  However, there are most always exceptions to most anything-even when it comes to wearing crinolines if crinolines aren't your thing. For me, that exception  came when my grandmother made me a velvet green dress to wear to a Christmas party. It was going to be held in a grand old hotel in that downtown where I lived. My date was a Freshman at a nearby college. He was so cute. We
Read more