Ollie Ollie Oxen Free!!! Splish Splash ! Brrr that feels refreshing!
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| The old swimming hole. |
Welcome y'all ! Come on now don't leave me out here alone! 💦😀😃Take the plunge! I have scared off all of the gar swimming about in this section of the river.
It is a nice peaceful day on the farm and noone is here but Ginger and the gang who are grazing up on the hill.
Well I must not forget Brad and Gertie who are enjoying dipping their hooves and soaking their ankles in the pond.
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| Big Bad Brad and Gertie soak their ankles along with Elsie. |
Before we go enjoy a lazy day at the river, let's hop into the Quilt Nest . I do have a block or two to share.
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| Friendship Block |
Melva at Melva Loves Scraps has been hosting a Quilt Along called Pieces of My Life. Every few weeks, she shares a beautiful quilt block with questions that you can answer to accompany the history of the quilt.
I have been woefully behind, but I do hope to catch up as time allows. A few weeks ago, I worked on Blocks 4 & 5.
Fabrics cut!
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| Prepping Bachelor's Puzzle |
Block 4 is all laid out ....
Soon my sewing machine was humming away.
Well with the blocks in the works, you know what that means - It is time for a tale . 😀💧💦💧
We will take a gander at the finished blocks at the river . Many of y'all know that I grew up on a farm. Summers were very busy as they still are. Believe it or not my favorite summer time activity was hay baling.
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| The hay has been raked. |
All the equipment was moved to the fields - 2 tractors, rake, baler and 2 hay wagons as well as the farm trucks.
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| The old hay rake. |
Dad swished and swooshed the rake back and forth through the field as us kiddos including one of my sisters and my 2 cousins would wait with baited breath for dad to yell "Load up on the wagon!" Then we would run with half frozen milk jugs filled with water into the field jumping over plump rows of tossed hay.
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| The teeth of the Papa's baler. |
Sis and little cousin went immediately to the back of the wagon as Papa hooked up the tractor to the baler with the wagon behind. The square bales would come out of the baler right on the wagon to be loaded.
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| One of the old wagons without the tall back rail. |
Me, the oldest and a tom boy, stood right next to dad along with my cousin, the only boy, and we tugged those bales right back to the back of the wagon as my little sis and cousin watched.
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| Papa's hay baler. |
After several rows of bales were stacked, we joined my little sis and cousin on top of the bales and chugged the ice cold water from the milk jugs.
We would then lay back pull a piece of hay out from a bale, pluck it into our mouth and suck on the sweetness as we admired our work. Meanwhile , dad finished the stacking; he was actually doing all the work. Hee ! Hee! but we thought we were of great help.
When the wagon was full, it was pulled over to the shade and the tractor and baler was hooked up to the next wagon and it all began again.
Once the wagons were filled, us kids bailed right off the wagons and ran like the devil down to the river. We were hot , itchy and ready to take the plunge.
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| Where all of us youngin's swam decades ago. |
Dad had fashioned a rope swing from the tall trees near the bank.
"Gernanimo! " I would yell as I was the first one to plunge into the water. Oh yes, the cousins' were insistent that I scare all the fish and any snakes away. What wonderful simple days, we enjoyed.
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| The swimming hole is down the embankment. |
Now I know the river looks as nasty as all get out , but to us kids who lived on a farm back in the days- well, that was all we had, and it was a big treat!
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| As kids , we swam up river to the tree where a swing was suspended from a tree. |
Most of the time if you go down to the ole' swimming hole today , you will find 4 young boys fishing the day away! This is one of their favorite places to be- making memories on the farm.
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| The boys are fishing for "Blackie" , a fish that they have been eyeing for days. It is a big one. |
Now let's see those quilt blocks down out the old swimming hole!
Here are the 1st 5 blocks on the sandy bank. The sunlight is dancing on the blocks as it is being filtered through the leaves.
Block 4 Bachelor's Puzzle is hanging from small river canes.
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Block 5 Square in a Square with Pinwheel.
These blocks have been such a delight to piece. Thank you, Melva.
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I am so very grateful that you dropped by to listen to some of my childhood tales and to see my blocks. I sure do wish you were here to enjoy a sunny lazy day on the river. This is where we spent the day yesterday reminiscing of days gone by.
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| Bev says howdy! |
If you missed my last Pieces of My Life post called Quilting , Cows and Tales about a game called Poke a Cow Patty, I invite you to visit that post; it is another crazy childhood tale from the farm to go along with 2 of Melva's blocks.
Happy quilting and stitching, y'all
Melisa
"Being raised a farm kid- best gift ever received! " unknown
Hugs and Stitches !!!🤗❤🧵
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| A leaf heart at the swimming hole. |
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| We no longer square bale the hay now. It is rolled. |
I am joining these lovely ladies' link parties. I hope you check them out; they always have so many wonderful projects going on and provide the opportunity for other needleworkers to meet.
Susan at Quilt Fabrication for Midweek Makers Wednesday
Jennifer at Inquiring Quilter for Wednesday Wait Loss- Wednesday
Denise at For the Love of Geese for Put Your Foot Down- Thursday
Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday- Thursday
Alycia's of Alycia's Quilts for Finished of Not Friday
Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauty Pageant - Friday
Great farm memories of your younger days, Melisa!! Pretty blocks you've finished...i especially like that Friendship Star with those colors...loving purples lately...
ReplyDeleteWe went down to the CT Riverside boardwalk last evening searching for some relief from this heat--and sure enough, there was a nice breeze off the river...we sat for about an hour until the fog rolled in --by the time we left everything was dripping!! ;((((
Enjoy that swimming hole....hot hot days!! Hugs, Julierose
Aah that sounds like a lovely evening especially with the breeze. We sat and watched the boys fish.It was not too bad in the shade . They had a wonderful time. Thank you so much for the sweet visit, Julierose. Hugs.
DeleteI always enjoy your tales of growing up on the farm, Melisa! I'm a city girl, so farm life always sounds so different, but also wonderful. It's great that your grandkids and nephews can enjoy it all, too. Your blocks look great - such pretty colors!
ReplyDeleteAah thank you so much, Diann. Farm life is all I have ever known. We feel fortunate that the grandkids and nephews enjoy time on the farm. I am sure one of them will be a farmer themselves one day. LOL. Have a great day. Hugs
DeleteMy father had a throw baler so we didn't stack at home but we certainly got in for the unloading. Us girls would unload while our brother and another guy would stack in the mow. When I married, I found out what making hay was like, 80 acres of it! That's what we did all summer long. I always drove the baler but certainly did my share of unloading wagons. Nowadays you can't find the labor to help with baling so it's a good thing the big balers were invented! Some is baled dry but if it's going to rain, it's high moisture baled then wrapped. Dairy cows are more picky about their hay than beef cattle. Your quilt blocks are lovely, this will be a nice quilt, happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteOh that is so interesting, Gretchen. Yes , you do know what baling is all about especially raising dairy cattle. Equipment has come a long ways hasn't it? It is nice to have those things to make the labor a little easier like you said it is hard to get labor now. But there is nothing like farm life is there? Thank you so much for the sweet visit and happy quilting. Hugs.
DeleteI remember as a kid begging dad to let me drive the tractor to cut and rake the hay. Finally I got old enough to do it for a couple years before we moved off the farm. I also remember mom and I on the wagon stacking the bales. You are off to a good start on your blocks.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Vicki, I would have loved to have driven the tractor too. I bet it was a thrill once you got to drive it. Papa always drove the tractor and kept a keen eye out. LOL. He was a quiet man so I am not sure what he thought of all of us kids on the wagon and equipment. I guess he loved it because we were never shooed away. Thank you for the sweet visit. You brought a smile to my day.
DeleteHey Melisa, me being a city girl, I love hearing of your stories living life on your farms. It sounds like a stinkin wonderful way to have been brought up. Memories of our childhood can sure conjure up some special ones. Your quilt blocks always amaze me, they are looking good. Hope you are enjoying your summer. Thanks for sharing with us. ❤️🤗
ReplyDeleteAaah thank you so much, Patti. We thought it was the bees knees as kiddos. We were always outside and into something. LOL. We are having a great summer; I hope you are too. I hope your vacation went well or are you still on it? Stay cool , sweet friend. Hugs.
DeleteYour blocks look awesome, Melisa. Always enjoy reading your stories about your growing up years on the farm and seeing the pictures! Happy Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteAaah thank you so much, Robin. I could talk about the farm all day. LOL. I hope you are having a good week. It was a mild day today. Hugs from the holler.
DeleteYou are such a great storyteller, Melisa. I enjoy hearing of your childhood and life on the farm. I've been following Diann's Pieces of My Life as well. Such a great way to quilt along with friends and relive fond memories.
ReplyDeleteOh , Jeanna, you are always so kind. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Isn't Diann's blocks gorgeous as well? I love reading her stories and she always has fabulous photos to accompany the blocks. Hope you are having a great week. Hugs.
DeleteFun, fun, fun, Melisa! Your blocks are very pretty! AND, you evoked a LOT of memories for me! One of my teachers in high school raised Brahmas and she bought hay from us. She was an "old maid" and a great teacher. My dad was not really able to do a lot, so I would toss those 75 lb bales of hay just like he could right into her barn. Of course, that was back in my younger days! She was quite impressed LOL!! Looking back, farming was hard work, but I think we all came out better in the long run. Now...well, if I had a farm, I would have to hire it done! LOL Oh, and we didn't have a river, but my cousins grandma had a creek on her property where we would go swim. Those little brim were brats sometimes too, nipping at our legs! LOL Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteOh how fun, Brenda. You know what farm life was like and all of the work and fun that goes along with it. Loading and unloading the hay was part of our chores too. It was work but we knew we were in for a treat when we went swimming. LOL. Thank you for the sweet visit. It is a delight to stroll down memory lane isn't it? Hugs.
DeleteYour story reminds me of when my brother and I would visit our grandparents during hay baling time and would "help" Grandpa and his neighbors with the hay.
ReplyDeleteI bet you had just as much fun as we did. Of course it was hot sticky work too though, LOL. Thank you so much , Rita for the sweet Wednesday visit. I am so glad this brought back fond memories. Hugs.
DeleteHot and itchy is what I remember about hay baling time. Lucky you to had the swimming hole. I can remember standing under a hose in the yard when we got back to the house. So cold after being in the hot fields for hours but so welcome. Your blocks look great! I am behind on my blocks, too. I remember when I started seeing the round bales in the fields and thinking they looked like big shredded wheat cereal. Love the shot of the boys sitting on the bank with their fishing poles. Whew! It's been so hot here. Your pond looks so inviting.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Hot and itchy. We wore our jeans and little straw hats. LOL but we still itched all over. But a dip in the river was divine. Speaking of water hose, I remember drinking from the hose on those hot summer days. Did you do that too? LOL. There is nothing like farm life. The boys sat there for hours fishing - they love it! They caught a couple but not the one they are after. LOL. Thank you for the sweet visit, Ginny. Hugs.
DeleteWhat lovely memories you shared, helping with the hay, and cooling off in the river. Happy days indeed.
ReplyDeleteThose were happy simple days, I miss them so. Thank you so much for the sweet Wednesday visit, Jenny. Hugs.
DeleteThose are the best memories, Melisa. I seldom think about my 'city life' but spending time with my grandparents at their ranch is always at the front of my mind. Darlene J
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing like farm or ranch life is there, Darlene. I miss those simple days of my youth, but I am happy that the farm is still in my life. Thank you for the sweet visit. Hugs.
DeleteLove your stories, and your quilt blocks in the wild photos, Melisa!!!
ReplyDeleteAaah thank you so much, Nancy. I think I like taking the quilt in the wild photos the best. Hope you are having a great week. Hugs.
DeleteWhat lovely memories! I would have loved that ol swimming hole as a kid! Lovely blocks and memories to share! Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2024/07/10/wednesday-wait-loss-388
Aaah thank you kindly, Jennifer. We made many fond memories here as children. I wish you a lovely weekend. Hugs.
DeleteWhat a sweet post Melisa! I loved reading about your hay baling adventures. You and I would have been friends for sure if we had lived close - I was a tomboy too. However, I was the only girl and the baby, so I was "protected" and Daddy would have told me that hay baling was too "rough" for me - lol! I loved reading about your river fun. We used to swim in lakes and rivers with greenish brown water too. Your blocks are so pretty. I've only made two but I hope to catch up soon!
ReplyDeleteLOL being a little tomboy meant getting into all kinds of adventures. I bet you were spoiled rotten being the baby, Linda and the only girl at that . I was spoiled rotten too for being the oldest. Daddy's always are protective over their babies. Thank you so much for bringing a smile to my day. Hugs.
DeleteOh I Love this story!! its so wonderful - and I love how you were helping Dad ;-) Great memories... but now Brad....Brad looks like he is soaking, but he also seems a tad - Large !!! Whoa boy!!
ReplyDeleteHave fun!!
We had a ball on the farm, Alycia and still are. LOL. Isn't Brad fabulous? I call him Big Bad Brad, but he is as gentle as lamb and a sweetie! Thank you for the sweet visit. Hugs.
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