One afternoon after leaving granddaddy McKinley’s Farm, daddy suddenly stopped the car in the middle of the road… there was a baby owl sitting in the road on Syrup Mill Crossing Road. No mama owl was around, or she would have most definitely swooped down attacking us when we got out of the car. Possibly another predator bird could have dropped him?
Daddy grabbed a blanket from the car and dropped it over him so he could easily pick him up… we couldn’t leave him there for the vultures already swarming overhead.
After arriving at Granddaddy Bryan’s house, they built him a cage and I brought him home. I don’t remember how long I kept him, but I don’t believe he lived very long. I found it very exciting to see a live owl up close – who has an owl for a pet?
Where was my camera??? Out in the Country….Granddaddy McKinley lived out in the country…. down a long dusty dirt road. It was my favorite place to visit and even though my mother sold the farm many years ago, I still enjoy riding down that dirt road to ride by the old farmhouse.
Just last year I was allowed another walk inside the farmhouse as it’s being restored for the owner’s son… it was such a treat! No matter how it changes, in my mind, I”ll always see it just like I remember! Grandmama’s corner cabinet that granddaddy built for her was still there… one more look. So happy to hear the new owners love it too, and will be keeping it in their house! I even left with a couple of my grandmother’s kitchen wooden cabinet doors… now to decide how I can re-purpose them. Any ideas? Please be sure and send them my way!
Granddaddy McKinley built this corner cabinet for grandmama to store her canned veggies from the family garden. Happy it’s being saved! The two kitchen cabinet doors are from grandmama’s kitchen – the new owners offered them to me; it meant more than I can ever say!
Spending time out in the country allowed me to experience things I couldn’t do in the city… like shooting my BB gun, playing doodlebug in the sand under the car shed, teasing the Bull in the backfield, exploring the barns, chasing the feral kittens, catching fireflies in a jar, whistling to the BobWhite Quail in the evening while sitting on the back stoop with granddaddy, swinging on the front porch swing and if Grandmama had a jar of blackberry jam on the counter… I made sure it came home with me.
Oceans:It was always exciting when we went on vacation to Florida and waiting for that first view of the ocean. I have so many memories of crowning that last hill and looking down to see the ocean and beaches ahead… just waiting for me.
My first Ocean experience was in Miami, Florida where we often vacationed… often staying at a bed and breakfast right on the beach. My days were spent playing in the ocean and riding the waves on my float… and picking up shells.
Our other beach we frequented was in Panama City…. with their great white beaches and water so clear. I could walk out up to my knees and still able to see my toes in the sand. Sprinkled along the beach were small colored shells called periwinkles – those were favorites of mine to hunt for.
Where I live in Connecticut today, I can easily see the ocean every day and often sit on the boardwalk or walk along the shore looking for shells or sea glass… becoming almost non-existent lately. It’s very peaceful to sit on the beach watching the waves roll in, but look out when hurricane season hits – the waves show anger – and go wherever they want to go… No stopping water!
Living on the East Coast, I still haven’t seen any oceans other than the Atlantic and some of the Gulf of Mexico near Miami. I know I need to branch out and see another ocean, but right now I’m stuck on the East Coast!
Operations:I’ve been fortunate to have stayed off the operating table, but I did have my tonsils out when I was about five years old. Mama said I cried so much about not wanting to ride on the gurney, that the orderly actually carried me to the operation room.,, my feet almost dragging the floor as he was very short… or I was very tall!
Let’s hope I stay off the table… as I still do not want to ride on one of those gurneys!
Want to read more, then click… 2017: A to Z… All About Me!
© 2017, copyright Jeanne Bryan Insalaco; all rights reserved
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