Yes, I'm a huge Tim McGraw fan, so of course my inspiration for this post came when I was listening to his song, "Back When". I crack up every time he sings, "Back when a Hoe was a Hoe..."
Click here to listen to "Back When"
It made me think of nostalgic things...my parents farm, my Grammys patio garden, etc. My family is from rural SE Indiana where the gentle rolling hills and hollows create a beautiful canvas. Every farm has a clever name...Pork Chop Hill is the name that displays on the side of my family farm barn; Billy Goat Mountain is another just north of our farm; and Hoot Owl Hollow (Holler, actually) is another close by. My grandparents settled here from Okalahoma, with visions of a quiet, simple life. What a wonderful place, our homestead!
The Old Barn finally succumbed to a tornado a few years back.
My son hung out at the farm for the summer last year!
When I think back on my parent's corner of rural paradise, I think of the acreage before the corn and bean fields, even before the alfalfa fields and before the willow trees. The green lawns decorated with lovely old world peonies...
roses...
tiger lilies...
honeysuckle vine...
lilacs...
hydrangea (close to the old farm house chimney, the shrub stays warm during the cold midwest winters)...
and fragrant cherry tree blossoms.
My Grammy's front patio was a place where everyone would gather and sip sweet tea. It was a peaceful place, even on the hottest afternoon, where the hummingbirds would gather together with the cats...a kind of garden of eden.
My Grammy grew lush hostas
lavender
and trumpet vine.
She was a magnificent artist and pianist. Her piano holds a place of honor in my home today. What fond memories of days gone by.
