While visiting this last month, I took Apollo for a drive to show him where Aimee and I grew up. The house is about 7 miles away from where Mom lives now. Anyway, I was a bit shocked when I saw it. Bushes have grown up, the grass is going crazy and the fence around the yard is pretty much rotten and only being held up in some places by other bushes. That gravel area you see in the front is what remains of the driveway.
I was sad when I saw it. I walked around the house and it mostly looked the same, except for the fact that time has not been kind. You know, that whole tore up look. And the silence...it was deafening. The window you see on the second floor was to my bedroom. I used to sit there at night and listen to the bear(s) eating blackberries or the occassional coyote hooping it up. (Click the pics)
The black walnut tree in the front yard has taken over. It's HUGE! You can't even see the house from the road. All it needs is a big storm, some tree rott and it's over for the house. I'll never forget the time I saw a cougar jump from the walnut tree, through the yard and over the fence toward the barn. The big cat was chasing one of our house cats. I assume he got her eventually since she (Smudge) came up missing. She was my favorite cat. :(
In front of the house looking towards the barn and the bridge over the creek. When the water froze every winter, we'd take the wheelbarrow and fill it up by lowering buckets over the bridge. We then wheeled it to the ungracious cattle in the coral who gulped it up like it was nothing. I was going to take more photos but my aunt's dog suddenly started barking at us (he was sleeping in a dog house on the porch) and we weren't sure if he would appreciate us hanging around. Plus, who wants to look at acres of blackberry bushes growing over buildings?I look back at these images with mixed feelings. I miss the serenity but the isolation we felt as kids sucked.
3 comments:
Hi Rayleen,
I found you on Crazy Aunt Purl's comments - she's awesome - but I stopped by to visit because I'm Rayleen, too. Spelled the same. And I promise I'm not an imposter, but I am Canadian. I got my name from both my parents, Raymond and Kathleen, who liked the combination their names made, and had never heard of the name before. So I'm another original, lol, if there is such a thing. I know of three other Rayleen's, but they are all spelled different and they were all born later in the year than me, so they're definitely copies. The one that makes me really mad is the one who's name is spelled Raelynn, but pronounced The same as mine, because after her parents put her name on the birth certificate they heard our pronounciation and decided that even though that's not how her name was spelled, they would say it Rayleen.
Anyway, that's my big long story about my name. Now you know there is another out there who spells it the same as yours.
Bye!
That's cool! I've never met another Rayleen spelled our way. It's cool that yours is a combination of your parents. :) Mine is from my grandpa who's first name is Ray and middle name is Lee. And because I'm the oldest grandkid I got the honors!
Do you have a blog?
Thanks for sharing your story!
Hi again,
No, I don't have a blog. I'm still debating how much of my brain I want to spread across the internet, lol - and if I did have one, I'm not sure I'd want anyone who knows me to read it!
I've bookmarked your site though, I'll be back to check you out again. And for now I'm just getting a kick out of how your comments now look like you're having a two-sided conversation with yourself, hee!
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