One of the first serious gardeners I knew was my great aunt Mary Moore. She grew up on a farm. One of the things she grew that I don't see too much of is rhubarb. It has an awful name and looks like red celery, but tastes so wonderful when cooked. Strawberries cooked with it make it even better.
Her pies, and cooking in general, were really good. Rhubarb pie and cooked rhubarb, for example. Yum. Maybe her cooking wouldn't have the American Heart Association's approval, but it was probably more nutritious than a lot of fast food considering the variety of veggies she served. I am glad to be blessed with a fast metabolism. Of course, I'm active, too.
She made dandelion wine. Even as an adult, I don't think I'd want to try it. I do like wine, especially red. The bitterness I don't like in dandelions. I pick dandelion greens from my garden (I work organically) for my appreciative guinea pigs.
I often think of her garden and remember checking it out. I probably stepped a few places I shouldn't have, not knowing any better. I also remember the first time my great aunt Mary used a Japanese Beetle trap; she learned the hard way that if you don't know where to place it, every beetle in the area will flock to your trap and your garden. I wonder if her neighbors appreciated it.
She and my uncle lived in Benton. It was a lovely rural area. (When I first wrote this blog, I thought Benton shared its name with the headquarters of Wal-Mart in Arkansas, but that's Bentonville. Oops!)
A creek ran past their house. My younger sister and I were advised not to go into the field too much on the other side of the creek. The farmer who owned the land apparently had a bull, so, you can guess what might happen.
Sometimes I'd look across the field backward through my Kodak pocket instamatic, which turned it into a telephoto lens. I don't recall that I ever spotted the animal, so he remains almost mythical today.
Cows I do like. In highschool, I did an internship with a vet clinic and cows were some of the gentlest creatures. It was fun, except for my allergies (which ruined my career hopes of working with animals full time). I also saw a lamb. She was pure white, very sweet and adorable.
I had a little help with my plot.
No comments:
Post a Comment