Country Living
From the beginning, life was simplistic yet exhilarating
My journey with nature began as a child on a farm in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I was an only child being raised by grandparents living at least four decades behind the times.
In the fields, much of my “playtime” was spent running through the wildflowers, picking dewberries, and wild strawberries. Feasting on the wild blackberries and being marked by a reddish-purple hue covering my face and hands was a common occurrence. At other times, I would quietly sneak into the creek and catch minnows and snakes. Watching the magic of the fireflies glowing in the dark at night left me in complete awe.
Farm life never left me lacking for things to do. Some of my responsibilities included washing dishes, cleaning the house, ironing, and doing my homework. I would walk, stick in hand, over about a 25-acre hill to round up the cows each evening to be milked. Locking up the chicken coop was also on my list of daily responsibilities. After locking the coop, I remember many times frantically running back to the farmhouse certain there were wild animals chasing me in the dark.
Searching for where the chickens were laying their eggs in the haystacks in the barn was a dreaded chore. Snakes often shared their favorite places to build hidden nests. Although these egg hunts made me a little nervous, this was part of life on the farm.
Mountain talk revealed an unexpected cultural experience
Not only were we slow to enter the modern world, we were also quite a bit on the hillbilly side. This part of the country has words and expressions that are not common to outsiders and are referred to as “mountain talk.”
Later in my life, I brought my daughter to the farm for a visit. As she listened to the people around her talk, she became very confused, and I had to interpret for her. She still makes fun of me, and she gets excited when a word or phrase slips out of my mouth that she can add to her repertoire of “mama hillbilly talk.”
Growing food on the farm was a family commitment
Being poor farmers, growing our food was a necessary part of life. As a result, I often had the opportunity to work in the large family garden which provided daily food. To have food for the winter, we preserved all the excess we grew.
The farm didn’t have modern-day irrigation. Most of the time, we relied on rainfall. If it didn’t rain, we carried water in pails to water our crops from the creek that ran through our property.
Our vegetable garden provided an abundance of fresh food, and we were always delighted to share with our neighbors, family, and friends. Oh, how I remember the delectable flavor of home-grown vegetables, fruits, and berries. Rarely have I been able to replicate that flavor when buying produce in the local stores.
Money was scarce, so buying soil amendments and fertilizers was not an option. The animals on the farm were the source of all the fertilizer we needed. Consequently, our soil was rich — like black gold! Earthworms and micro-organisms were abundant in the soil producing the nutrients the vegetables needed to thrive and that wonderful flavor I still crave.
Life with the animals provided an education and evoked compassion
Animals were a significant part of my life. We had chickens, pigs, cows, dogs, cats, horses, and a mean bull. Caring for the animals and their young was a joy as well as an education.
Spending time with the animals out in the fields was exciting for
me. Riding the horses became a favorite pastime. I did get “treed” (chased up a tree) once by our bull! Hours passed before that bull became distracted by a cow long enough for me to climb out of the tree. It was my first chance to “high tail it” (run) for home. I really didn’t like that bull!
Animals were necessary to sustain our life on the farm
It was necessary to grow food for our livestock. I often rode a mule as my grandfather plowed the fields to plant alfalfa for hay. Later, I rode the tractor that pulled the hay baler and watched in amazement. Perfect bales of hay came out of that hay baler from the dry alfalfa on the ground.
Growing up on the farm, although a lonely life for an only child, was certainly an educational one. This lifestyle instilled good work ethics. In addition, it was an education that didn’t come from books but came from living life in nature.
Although I had many chores and had to do my part to help sustain life on the farm, I also had a lot of free time. I used this time to explore my world, the world of nature.
The bursting colors of beautiful spring flowers excited our souls
My grandmother loved flowers. We had fields of wildflowers, but she still loved to plant Zinnias each spring to frame the front porch. Most evenings we sat on this porch and talked about the day.
Lavender and purple Morning Glories adorned our spring garden. As invasive as the Morning Glories were, these flowers provided a visual beauty as we worked in the garden.
Morning Glories, hugging the ground with their long slender vines, attracted bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This often piqued my curiosity and as a result, often became a major distraction from my garden work.
Looking back
Often people ask me what the population was in the town I grew up in. I could count the population by name on my fingers. We were a small community but a very connected one. We could count on our neighbors when we needed help.
Our farm was somewhat isolated, and my social life was quite limited; therefore, nature became my best friend.
I have many fond memories of the farm. City life was quite a transition for me. I still grow vegetables and berries, and flowers adorn any other open spaces I can find. My passion for nature came from my childhood.
In our busy pace of life, we often don’t feel we have the time to enjoy all of nature’s gifts and the healing effect those gifts offer. I also realize how important it is to give back to nature, to refill her cup, and to gift to her what she needs to keep this essential life cycle in motion.
My commitment is to encourage people to engage with this amazing life-giving resource and to help people in any way I can to learn, recognize, and engage in these remarkable resources. Nature can make such a difference in our lives and the lives of those we love and cherish.
In conclusion, please join me on this journey to love, grow, immerse, experience, and reap the blessings of nature. May we all enrich our lives through the power of nature and learn together.
Thanks for reading my story and getting a glimpse into my commitment to the Earth. I love every aspect of this beautiful world, and this is where I find peace, a peace I’m committed to paying forward.