Welcome to my world and beyond...

A collection of snippets of the books I write and, occasionally, my life and the things that inspire my writing...

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

A to Z "C"


My stories of growing up out here in the country might seem unbelievable,  but some of you might nod your head while remembering your own youth.  Considering the lives of today's children, it must seem to them that I not only grew up in another time, but it must also have been on another planet.

I learened very young, that on a summer evening when it's hot and you can almost drink the moisture out of the air, you can hear the corn grow. And there's a tell-tale rattle to the leaves when a welcome breeze ricochets through and along the rows.There's even a smell to it when the corn "comes to tassle", and the wind-pollination sets the scents adrift.Few things were so awe inspiring as a corn field, and the feeling that I was part of it, I was one with the field, the night, the world. Until I watched Chiller Theater one Saturday night--a local Pgh TV show that hosted a new frightening movie each weekend.  Anyway, they showed a movie called "The Triffids" and it was terrifying to, you know... to a child.  The premise was that there was a massive meteor shower one night, and somehow the meteors affected carnivorous plants and made them grow taller than most men. AND, if that wasn't scary enough, anyone who had raced outside to watch the meteors fall from the sky (nearly everyone had) went blind. Now we had 7 foot tall, man eating plants consuming the people who couldn't see them com ing. Yeah, they could move! Nd in a cruel twist to a girl who loved warm summer nights out watching the stars on top of the hill, Triffids looked exactly like a cornfield moving toward the blind!  Hah! I still can't walk through a corn field. ;-)

The milk cow that stands out in my memory was a brown swiss named Betsy. In the summer, when the barn was empty and the cows were out to pasture until autumn, Betsy would make her way to the yard fence, to the exact same post every day at the same time.  And that was where we milked her.

We had chickens.  The last peep to hatch on the farm (of which I am aware) we named cheeper because, well, you guessed it, made a cheep-cheep-cheep noise. So creative, I know!  Cheeper turned out to be a rooster.  And he was a rooster who needed anger management, or something.  Have you ever been around a nut-job crazy rooster?  Let me tell ya, they can run fast, they do have spurs that will make a person bleed, and it's rather terrifying having them beat their wings against you and peck at whatever they can reach.  So many times I've wondered why in god's name would any geneticist breed teeth into chickens?  Can you say "small velociraptor"?  I digress.  But who wouldn't?  Seriously, moving on now.

And on a late winter day, I can picture the cats, mousers that they were, stretched out on the logs of the barn at the edge of the hayloft--a southern exposure, sunning, absorbing the warm rays of the sun.  

Catching crayfish in the "crick", car-hood sleds, and the smell of clover in bloom...  C is a great memory prompt!

Have any childhood memories that start with a "C"?


25 comments:

  1. We had a pretty rooster that sounds alot like cheepers. My sisters and I hated him and thought he'd make a good stew, but my mom only saw his stunning feathers and insisted we keep him. She held her ground until the day he attacked her. Strangely, the next day when we got home from school, he was gone.

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    1. Hmmm...Sunday dinner? Roosters are fascinating, but they can be such a risk to have around children.

      There are some incredible breeds, for sure. I wonder what breed the rooster was that your mom protected until that dark day??

      I'm becoming a fan of Silkies. I keep fighting the urge to get some, though.
      Thanks for visiting!

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  2. C=COLD! Remember a winter snowstorm that probably qualified as a blizzard during which our heat went out. Mom wrapped all 4 of us in heavy blankets and tucked us into her big bed while we waited for the repairman to trek through the drifts. She read Anne of Green Gables to us that winter, so the wait was very pleasant and suggly. Plus she made hot chocolate. The wind howled outside, but we were warm and safe.

    Teresa, thanks for the great review of my book on Amazon! So glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate your support! You're a peach!

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    1. What a sweet memory. I'd like to be snowed in and have LM Montgomery's books for company! Thanks for sharing that, Nan. And as far as the review? You earned it, dear lady! :-)

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  3. "Catching crayfish in the "crick", car-hood sleds, and the smell of clover in bloom... C is a great memory prompt!"


    You had a childhood full of adventures!

    Damyanti @Daily(w)rite
    Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013

    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

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  4. I grew up in a town but visited my aunt's farm every summer. Loved the way you wrote this. Almost felt like I was right there in the corn field!

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    1. :-)So glad to put you in that cornfield of yesteryear. :-) Thanks for visiting, Paula! :-)

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  5. Ahh, life in the sticks. And the memories just come rolling back like wave. Very evocative post. Nicely done.

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    1. Haha! In the sticks. Love it. My dad used to say that all the time. :-) Thank you. :-)

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  6. A childhood in the country sounds so lovely! Great post xx

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  7. Ah, the crick. That's what we called it, too. You're bringing back memories I hadn't thought about in years. :)

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    1. Neat, Dana! Are you from northeastern USA? Thanks for visiting. :-)

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  8. LOL. Do I ever have childhood memories starting with "C"--let's try my alias, "Chicken" for starters, and end with the awesomeness that is "cheese." C is my letter!

    I love this reminiscing! So many of these things are what fuel heart-felt writing.

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    1. Holy cow, Crystal! You are the ultimate "C" participant! Thanks for visiting. :-)

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  9. Lovely post. I definitely wouldn't get too near a rooster in a rage. In my non-countryside childhood, the first thing that comes to mind is "Commodore 64". Don't know what that says!

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    1. lol--excellent. And it does date you, Nick! Thanks for visiting. :-)

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  10. I didn't know you could hear corn grow....my favorite childhood C memories are exploring castles! We moved to England when I was five or six and I was fascinated!
    fun post!
    -a fellow A to Zer

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    1. Castles!! And all I had was corn! Dagnabbit ~jealous~ lol. Thanks for visiting :-)

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  11. A childhood in the country! They don't make childhoods like that anymore.

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  12. What beautiful prose! I think I would have enjoyed growing up in the country with corn fields and cows and chickens! I don't really care for cats. Sadly, the only "c" things I can remember in my childhood are cable and the movie Clueless :(

    Chontali Kirk
    chontalikirk.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Chontali,

      First, I love your name! Beautiful.

      I wish everyone had country memories. :-)

      Cable and Clueless are good memories, no? At least if you got to share them with friends. :-)

      Thanks for visiting! :-)

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  13. Ahhh, the country. Your post paints such a nice picture, I can almost smell that crisp, clean country air. I grew up in the 'burbs, but even there, if you look hard enough, little pockets of country can be found - cats, cows, chickens, clover, cucumbers, crickets, crisp apples, cherries...makes me want to go outside :)

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