The warm weather, brings back memories!!!
Well the weather is beginning to get warmer. Guess you know what that means....It's coming up on Georgia time, or Country time. Boy I would almost dread this time of the year coming up but I loved my grandparents so that would make it bearable, but because I knew that it was getting close to the time for us to work in the fields, picking peas, butter beans, okra, tomatoes, and anything that grew out of the ground I kind of dreaded it also. OMG it was field hand time. The dogs that belonged to my grandfather look forward to this time also. They would not have to herd the cows for at least two weeks out of the year. Grandpa used us to herd the cows in at night, the dogs laid stretched out on the back of the pick up truck. As if to say, "Its vacation time, the grans are here! I wanted to scream, my new Converse like tennis shoes, they would never survive running in those fields. I can remember running behind those cows screaming to get them to go to the other fields closer to the house. Why not just leave them out there in the wide open fields; we did not realize that putting them in the corral closer to the house, grandpa could protect them better from wild animals. Yes it is like you see on TV. Georgia was full of Bobcats that liked to kill and eat the cows, it sounds like something off "The Wild, Wild West". The hogs were safe in the mud; the chicken coupe was shut and locked at night. If anyone was crazy enough to go into the fields at night; well that was between them and the snakes, OMG! Grandpa always slept with his shotgun near by, never understood that until one night we woke up to him shooting at a Bobcat that was trying to get into the corral where we had herded the cows. It all became clear after that. I always thought that when school was out it was our vacation. But we were like Little Tommy Tucker who sang for his supper. We had to go and harvest food for the winter. I now understand why we did these things. Today how I would love to be able to harvest my food. We always bought back a cow that had been packed and frozen for us to bring back. Back then we ate steak and did not realize how blessed we were. What is the old saying 20/20 is hind sight? Now I look at my girls, they would die 40 deaths if they had to do what we did. Children now days are fortunate not to have to do things like that in order to take care and feed a family. I think that is where my fear of spiders comes from; seeing all of the different kinds in the fields. Snakes OMG! I could never get use to them. Did you know that they can get into your house and just live, you would never know that they are there? Every year before we came down to visit, both grandparents de-snaked their houses. They knew that the children would be everywhere, and some of their rooms stayed closed off until we came to visit. All in all Growing up Country was not all bad. It had its good points, and bad points. Later I will tell you about Christmas time!
sherry/smomdukes
I am going to try and paint a room downstairs in my house, I am moviing my fake office from upstairs to downstairs, I seem to need more room. I am working on my Mother's day event, so I have got stuff everywhere. I will have pictures this year, I have a new camera I got me a Leica point n shoot. My body is trying to adjust to the weather changes, but hey such is MS. I got my disability, only I was told that MS was not on the list of illnesses to receive medical right away, I have to wait a year. Do you know anything about that, I called them and that is what I was told. Oh yea, I am down to ony one dog now, my daugther got hers YA YA YA YA. I put mine outside in the backyard, it is fenced in so he can run free. Take care Merely
Snomdukes, you had me out there, whooshing in Cows and picking peas with my back aching, I was living it all. those poor dogs having a few weeks off. your Grandpa with his shotgun. I could hear the crickets at night , the hens safe in their Coups and the Cats looking for a juicy cow !! But the snakes !!! Snowdukes, I heard that sometimes in parts of US snakes come in and completely take over a house and there's nothing you can do, you close it up and move, is this true ? Being anxious and terrified of snakes, I would have been scared that whoever 'de snaked' the house forgot to look under MY bed, or in a closet somewhere, Youre a brave lady. So right too, kids have it easy now.
I really enjoyed your description. You must have known the dangerous snakes from the harmless ones ? yuck, I hate the things. Wouldnt hurt em but I just hate them.