Sunday, September 13, 2009

Down on The Farm...

I would have to say, one of my favorite loves, would be farm related things... From items that once lived a farm life, hog troughs, feed bunks, iron fragments from tractors and farm machinery, to things found inside the farm house, old cupboards, work tables, gnarly spoons, with the bowls warn down, from stirring gallons of preserves, and paring knives, that are paper thin...from a 100 years of use, the worn and well loved things, that are still very useful today.
Yes, I still use these wonderful, vintage, 'farm life' artifacts daily, they are not collected to simply sit, and be admired for the wonderful object that they have evolved into, though they could be considered an art form. They are still doing their job, and because of superior craftsmanship, are doing it well, a century later....
I wonder if the farm wife of a hundred years ago, would have even had a fleeting thought, that her favorite paring knife, or table spoon, would be admired, and used daily, by someone in the 21st century... Or the old metal pig trough, she threw the table scraps in for the pigs, would now grace the harvest table, filled with pumpkins and gourds, garnished with bittersweet...hmmm...
My friend, Bart, stopped in today, after he had hit a Great auction, we sorted through his treasures, and I found a wonderful old post card, from 1913, the year my Dad was born. It was of a beautiful group of pigs, that were going to be sold at action, from Washington, Iowa. { about 70 miles south of my home.}It's difficult to see, my camera isn't the best, but on the front of the post card it reads,'Sunny Slope, Herd of Pure Bred Hampshire Swine, C.A. Brook, Washington, Iowa.' I really appreciate images like this, it's like a window to our past. When I find old photos like this, it always gets me thinking about the everyday life, a hundred years ago, or better, in our part of the country, and the vintage, 'every day' pieces, that I have gathered, that most people don't give a second thought to, I love these things, they seem to bring a warm, comfortable feeling to our home.
I spent several hours at my friend Don's new shop, in Amana, today. It was my first visit, and his store is amazing. It will take me some time to tell you about it, so I'll post all the images tomorrow. My neighbor, Rose, who makes the BEST Kolaches in the world, called me earlier, and is stopping by with a plateful early in the morning, so I need to get to bed, it's after mid-night...{Rose's Kolaches for breakfast...mmmm....I can't wait!}
'til next time,
Barb C.

3 comments:

summersundays-jw said...

You're so lucky to have such great shops around you not to mention great friends who come by with auction finds. This was a pretty dry weekend for me as far as purchases but were very busy in the shop. Looking forward to your pictures. Jan

Debby said...

I know how you feel! My husband's grandmother was three weeks away from being 105 when she passed away. She loved being called "Mammy" by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Mammy was the 13th of 14 children (lucky 13!) She and my husband's parents lived on the same farm in eastern North Carolina. One day Mike and I were "exploring" and found her dough bowl in a little storage barn on the dirt floor! Well worn from all the biscuits and pastry she had made for years, our attitude was "finders keepers!" So, we took it home. My husband's aunt and uncle (that owns that particular piece of property) weren't upset when they saw it sitting on my kitchen table when they came over for Thanksgiving dinner that year!

Every time I pass by it, I think of Mammy. I see her bent over her kitchen table, whistling a little tune, and making a big batch of biscuits. A little piece of her is with me - in a relic that had been discarded, but was so much a part of her life!

pollyanns said...

I was thinking of coming by to see you today... will you be home? Any of those Kolaches left? ha ha :0)