A series of essays and photos....
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| WALKING BACK HOME UNDER MY FAVORITE TREE |
....as seen through my eyes!
BY: Jacqueline E. Hughes
Taking pictures is one of the best ways of capturing the moment, preserving a piece of the present in order to, eventually, define the past.
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| PRESENT? |
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| PAST? |
We all take them, especially given the convenience of Smartphones, and we all look at them after the fact. Each one of us will process our pictures in a very personal way. Taking a selfie and texting it to your friends may define our personality and lifestyle. A particular snapshot or video of a furry friend, a frightening mishap, or a mishap involving a furry friend may go viral and be seen by millions if we choose to utilize the power of social media! A photo taken of a mountain landscape, a trip to the county fair, or of you seated between your grandparents during a summer picnic might evoke or trigger childhood memories of other trips, relatives, and locations.
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| THESE ROCKS ARE LOVED AND APPRECIATED FOR THEIR BEAUTY |
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| HEARING STORIES ABOUT THE FARM'S HISTORY |
Each time our friends invite us to stay a night or two at their farm near Jackson, Michigan, it never fails to surprise me just how instrumental their homestead is in triggering the past for me. Dan and I go there to enjoy the great company and hospitality Jan and Fred provide. We nourish ourselves with good food and conversation and take long and leisurely walks along country roads, farm lanes, and sun dappled wooded paths. Playing a few friendly yet competitive games of Spinner, the game of wild dominoes, might be in order while sitting at the wooden game table near the large picture window overlooking the expansive fields to the south.
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| ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY ON THE FARM! |
Slipping our Smartphones into a pocket of choice right before a walk ensures our connection with the outside world (specifically our children and grandchildren) and allows us to chuck out the present for a walk down memory lane. I recall a time when cousins giggled while running through gigantic corn stalks playing a game of tag, and curious ‘little ones’ followed grandma, basket in hand, to the chicken coop to collect breakfast eggs. Grandpa would follow behind us to make certain we were careful as we rambunctiously ran to the ‘old barn’ to jump from lofts into bales of hay stacked on the barn’s floor.
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| ANGLED FENCE POSTS LADEN WITH CHARACTER! |
Life is simple and curiously exciting when you’re a child spending time at your grandparent’s farm!
Life can be relaxing and curiously exciting when spending time with good friends at their farm!
By the time the four of us make it out under the lattice arch that leads into the barnyard and outbuilding areas, I catch my breath while engaging in the first glimpse of the tall oak tree living on the lane that leads us back into the deep, dark woods. Her new leaves waving at us in the springtime breeze is like observing a dazzling gateway to a kinder, gentler world. She is one of the main reasons I pluck my iPhone from my jacket pocket and begin lining up the first photograph from our walk.
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| WILDFLOWERS ALONG THE PATH |
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| CROPS FROM ANOTHER TIME |
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| CAPTURING A MOMENT |
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| KEEPING IN THE SHEEP |
Then there are.... Angled fence posts laden with age and character, piles of stones newly released from their sandy loam depths, and colorful wild flowers being kissed by the bees.
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| ROCKS, ROCKS...EVERYWHERE!! |
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| MORE BEE BUTTS |
So many pictures are taken in such a short amount of time! They are, undeniably, my triggers to a flood of beautiful memories that are sometimes misplaced...but, never truly forgotten.
Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
Photo copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
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