the toy corner

Over on the fireplace is a pile of books and art supplies that we count on to keep Reaves occupied while she's here.  On the other side of my great grandmother's rocking chair is a bunch of dolly stuff.  Bed and highchair....the whole nine yards!  Thank you Bella and Cathy B for all those donations.  If Elizabeth is in a good mood, we play outside.  She runs so fast that it's hard for us to catch up so we just wait until she runs out of steam.  The day she told me she didn't like me and ran away it was as far as the utility pole for ten minutes.  I watched from the porch as she isolated herself from me and my authority.  And, I could relate. 

It is windy and dusty here with leaves and soybean dust blowing around.  The crop near me is almost done but then there are the ones across the road yet to be cut.  Already the landscape looks different, soft and brown and ready for winter.   It's very quiet out here then with no farm traffic.  I know every season of this place and they are all special in their own way.  Once upon a time when I still lived in town I tried to drive out here in 8 inches of snow and got stuck as a goose.   I don't remember who rescued me....probably my daddy on a tractor.  I learned my lesson on that one.  

There was one year that a headwater came our way and the Forked Deer rose a gazillion feet in 30 minutes effectively stopping all traffic except for tall vehicles.  Lauren was still at home and I remember vividly making a run to town and having to ride back to the house in the back of Clara's county truck.  I could actually feel the current pushing us around.  After that it only got worse and finally it was impassable even to a tractor.  It took about a week for the water to drop enough so that we could get in and out.  I'm pretty sure James Frank, the neighbor, took Daddy in a boat to the by-pass for a ride to his doctor's appointment. UCMTSU  My old trusty Camry stayed at Mr. Smith's shop for the duration.  

Then there was the time that Joey came to my door and told me Lauren was passed out in a ditch down the lane.  She was trying to avoid a rabbit or something and slid on in.  We got her out, and the car.  Sometime after that she hit a doe where you top the hill.  I will never forget that buck standing over her body for days.  

I've done the science in my head and have figured out that the lower you are on the property, the worse the dust is.  Kind of like being in a bowl.  When you're up higher, it floats down.   I'm not sure if that's true but it sure seems that way.  

Y'all carry on with grace and dignity.  And always remember from whence you came ^j^