Remembering summer mornings of my childhood, my how things have changed….

Early summer mornings in the country, windows wide open, curtains billowing in he breeze, birds singing, heavy dew on the grass sparkling in the morning sunlight. 

Mother would always rise early.  She would work steadily in the early morning hours before the heat of the day.  By eight o’clock she would have already pulled her wringer washing machine out of the wash house, washed laundry and have it hanging on the line to dry.She would tour her garden, check her fleurs in the yard, often picking a bouquet, and putting them on the table in a fruit jar.

I can just hear the screen door banging as she went in and out of the house.  She would empty dishwater on her fleurs, and draw a bucket of fresh water from the well.  The water was always so cool and I remember the distinctive, metallic taste of the dipper, as I would raise it to my mouth for a drink.

I would tumble out of bed, pull on a pair of shorts, and often a little elastic topped peasant blouse that she had sewn several of for me from a favorite pattern, brush my hair into a pony tail, and after a trip to the outhouse, followed by a dog or two and baby kittens, we would argue about breakfast, as she always thought I needed nourishment and I absolutely detested breakfast food.

Our radio would be tuned in to WROY, getting the latest local news and farm reports, and I had a list of chores to accomplish, also.  It was a busy time, summer mornings, there were vegetables to tend in the garden, and weeds to hoe.  I can just see Mother, with her apron turned up like a basket, full of vegetables, heading into the house with the bounty her garden had given her. We had chickens, and there were eggs to pluck from the nests, often under an old hen that didn’t want to part with them, they would try and peck the back of your hand with their beaks.

I remember bees, and flies, and cherry trees heavily laden with bright red fruit, and of course the sounds of the red winged blackbirds on my beloved  ditch bank.

Oh, how different it is today, when we rise to an automatic coffeepot perking our morning cuppa, in a cool, climate controlled house.  We take for granted our flush toilets and our hot showers, and our washing machines and our freezers stocked with food.  But I remember how it was. 

I’ll always remember…

Do any of you have memories you would like to share? Mary, you should comment on this one, I’m sure this post has taken you back to your childhood, as we both lived similar lives…