`Irrigating...one last time

Kelley and I went up to mum's to do the irrigation Monday morning.  Our turn started at 4 am so we tried to get there as early as we could.   

It was a beautiful day but I was feeling kind of melancholy.  As I raised the flood gate that lets the water start it's merry way down the ditch to mum's place, I realized that this would be the last time I would ever do this.  I think Kelley could sense what I was feeling, so he went out of his way to make it a nice day for me.  He pretty much took over the irrigating and did all the work while I wandered around the yard, taking pictures and thinking about my life growing up there.

 

Little sweet pea flowers growing along side of the ditch...they used to grow along the fence in the back yard.  I've always thought they were so cute...used to pick them and give them to mum.

The garden the ward planted is really doing well.  They planted lots of corn, beans, tomato's, squash, carrots and lettuce. 

They had just been there that morning to irrigate so it was still wet...seeing it like that with wet furrows, and everything growing so beautifully took me back 20 years and I felt like I could turn around and see daddy standing there with his hoe, waiting for the water to make it down to the end of each row.

The gazebo was always our favorite place to hang out.  It was the place for parties, showers...wedding trousseau display, and quilt tieing.   But mostly it was the place for just sitting and visiting with who ever might stop by.  Many many summer afternoons were spent chatting with neighbors, friends and relatives in the gazebo.  Then mum would say...." I think I have some ice cream in the freezer"  and she would treat who ever was there to an a ice cream cone or bar.

And when no one was around, the glider was the perfect place to  stretch out and snooze a lazy afternoon away. ( If there was anything I'd like to get from the folks, it would be this glider)

The pond is so full of lily's... you can't even see the fish! 

We took a pot of them home with us.

It did not like the ride.

The rock garden is so over grown  now with ferns, and strawberry plants and other plants that mum used to always cuss cause they would spread out so much ( but she would keep them at bay and under control when she was there)  It didn't seem like her and daddy had to do anything to keep things growing there...the plants and flowers just thrived. 

Last rose of summer?  The roses have looked pretty sad this year...so I was surprised to see this beauty.

Like I said...morning glory ( the pretty kind) just growing from nowhere.

Hydreangea ( or the snowball bush as we used to call it) is still gorgeous!

We used to rake the leaves in the fall into "houses" with walls and furniture and beds and whatever we could imagine.   ( kind of like looking down at a house plan.)  Then play house for hours. 

Anyway, we would use the then dried up snow balls to decorate our houses. 

Those just made me think of it.

As I sat on the little stool by the fish pond thinking about all the wonderful times I have spent in this magical place, the tears started to flow.  Tears of sadness for change and loss and the hole in my heart mum's passing has left there....and tears of gratitude for the blessing of being born into this wonderful family and for all the things we've been through together ...  good times and hard times...

I guess that's what  life is anyway... our experiences, living, loving,, serving, growing, learning,  

 I 'm sure grateful for the great parents I was given and the  example they set for me of the kind of person I wanted to become.  I'm sure it will take my lifetime to  develope some of the atributes they had that seemed to come so easily to them.  Sure do miss them...but then I guess that's just another part of life.