Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Childhood entertainment

I do not know where this book came from--it was in our home as long as I can remember. It provided me with hours and hours of entertainment when I was a kid. I think when I first began looking at it, I was almost so small my mom had me set down and she would give it to me then. I would go through it sometimes from cover to cover, but sometimes I skipped over the things like fleas and cockroaches and worms...I was in it for the feathers and the fur as well as butterflies, moths and snakes.
I can remember looking at it before I could read....totally loving the animals. I don't guess it is any wonder that when I was young, I would have loved to have had a job with Jim Fowler and Marlin Perkins of Wild Kingdom fame. I never wanted to be a vet so much as an animal handler or naturalist. I just loved fooling with animals and still do.
And this picture of the bat always gave me the creeps, and still does. When I was a kid I don't remember seeing very many bats...I don't know if they were not there or if I just didn't see them. I would assume the latter. Here, it is normal to see them out every evening at dusk. And when I worked at the orchard, sometimes they were in the barn, and sometimes in the big cooler before we cleaned it out and closed it and started the refrigeration.
As I got this book out, I wondered what it would be worth on Antiques Roadshow...it has definitely seen better days but it holds a lot of memories for me.