Tuesday, March 24, 2009

From Parke County

The other day I was reading THIS post from Abraham Lincoln's Blog...he is talking about people asking him where he finds his inspiration for his blog. He says he can step out his door and find inspiration.
Sometimes I step out my door and can find something I want to take a picture. If not there, I can in the more liberal sense of the term. I have been driving the backroads of Parke and Vermillion Counties for years now, and still find new things. They are essentially in my backyard...I don't have to take a trip to see a famous place to find something that grabs my attention.
This is one we seen Sunday...I don't think I have ever been down the road this was on. And I look at those rocks and wonder how long they have been there and where did they came from. And just how were they moved? Was this used as a cellar, or was it a storm shelter or what.
There was an old house there that was laying there in a pile...it had just fell in upon itself. Another untold story. You know someone, somewhere would be sad that it no longer stood there.

Thinking of spring


We had to run to Walmart for a couple of things this morning...one of which was lime. To put on the garden spot. Another item was something from the pharmacy which was waiting for us. We were going to pay for it up front, and as we were walking away, I ask Roger if he checked to make sure it was the right item...or maybe I should say right style of item. (Lancets--there are several 'styles' I guess you would call them, and all are not made the same) He looked and it was not...so he took it back and while we waited for them to get the correct ones, we went back to the gardening section.
We did come home with the above...but I could have spent so much more. I could go wild for flowers and gardening things. They also had Kennebec seed potatoes...also had Yukon Gold. But just hearing the name or seeing Kennebec takes me back to childhood. I don't know that we always planted them...but I think we did sometimes. I guess I just liked the sound of the name because it has stuck all these years. (Or maybe we didn't plant them at all...one of my brothers can surely tell me.) I don't recall the name of any others at all.

And the thoughts of hickory cane corn and cornfield beans brings such a happy vision to my mind. I don't know who of you have heard of either one so I will explain a little bit. Hickory cane corn is a very tall corn...I am 5'3" tall and it towers above me. The ears of corn are long and seems to me kind of slender. Maybe they just seemed slender...but for sure the kernels of corn are much wider and flatter than any other we ever grew. And maybe it comes in yellow, but we always grew white.

But the corn is not the object. We grew it so we could plant cornfield beans with it! I suppose they are similar to pole beans, but it was an actual variety. I don't know if they exist any more--I have never seen them in Indiana. The beans were long and oh so beautiful. And so much fun to pick. No bending over...but I don't even think that was the total pleasure of them. They were just a pleasure to pick, and to eat. I suppose it is an exaggeration to say they hung like grapes, but yet that is how I felt about them. We could pick a bushel in no time at all.

I think it is something deep within my soul, maybe back to caveman days, but I love to pick things. And my favorite things to pick above all else are blackberries, cornfield beans, and apples.