What are some of your favorite memories...from your childhood, or last week, or this morning. What things bring a smile when they surface in your head?
My main favorite memories involve my grandparents.
My paternal grandparents were farmers in Eastern Iowa. Grandpa came from Germany and he and grandma bought and took over her parent's 180 acre farm. Even for the time when I was a kid, the setup was pretty primitive compared to other farms I saw. They made a comfortable living with dairy cattle, Brown Swiss which were unusual in the area, hogs, and chickens being the primary livestock. Grandma often added other kinds of poultry...guineas, duck, etc. Of course, there were dogs and cats...particularly Brownie who was one of a litter of pups dad found whose mother had been killed. Brownie lived a long, long time and was the best dog ever.
I remember riding the tractor with grandpa, watching the milk separator work to skim off the cream by vibrating it to the top. Playing with piglets after grandpa made sure the sow couldn't get to me. Picking up and cleaning eggs for grandma to sell...and so many other farm chores.
Grandpa was a stern, quiet man but I always go to spend time with him and got to go to town with him often. If he was working on wood for something, there was always a small plane for me to use on a scrap of wood (I still have some of those).
Grandma and I hiked the farm and picnicked. We looked for morels...YUCK....but they loved them and I often found wild strawberries and blackberries and honeysuckle to suck the little bit of juice out of. We played card games and board games and made crafts and ate the best popcorn ever! Grandma also loved to fish. And we often went to the quarry or out to the Mississippi to fish. She was endlessly patient with my constant chatter.
If this is of interest...I will tell you about the other grandparents...and great grandmom who were just as interesting, though seen less often due to being so far away. That grandfather was a deep sea fisherman and charter boat captain...so I had quite diverse experiences with my grandparents.
My main favorite memories involve my grandparents.
My paternal grandparents were farmers in Eastern Iowa. Grandpa came from Germany and he and grandma bought and took over her parent's 180 acre farm. Even for the time when I was a kid, the setup was pretty primitive compared to other farms I saw. They made a comfortable living with dairy cattle, Brown Swiss which were unusual in the area, hogs, and chickens being the primary livestock. Grandma often added other kinds of poultry...guineas, duck, etc. Of course, there were dogs and cats...particularly Brownie who was one of a litter of pups dad found whose mother had been killed. Brownie lived a long, long time and was the best dog ever.
I remember riding the tractor with grandpa, watching the milk separator work to skim off the cream by vibrating it to the top. Playing with piglets after grandpa made sure the sow couldn't get to me. Picking up and cleaning eggs for grandma to sell...and so many other farm chores.
Grandpa was a stern, quiet man but I always go to spend time with him and got to go to town with him often. If he was working on wood for something, there was always a small plane for me to use on a scrap of wood (I still have some of those).
Grandma and I hiked the farm and picnicked. We looked for morels...YUCK....but they loved them and I often found wild strawberries and blackberries and honeysuckle to suck the little bit of juice out of. We played card games and board games and made crafts and ate the best popcorn ever! Grandma also loved to fish. And we often went to the quarry or out to the Mississippi to fish. She was endlessly patient with my constant chatter.
If this is of interest...I will tell you about the other grandparents...and great grandmom who were just as interesting, though seen less often due to being so far away. That grandfather was a deep sea fisherman and charter boat captain...so I had quite diverse experiences with my grandparents.
![[Image: MmQV79M.png]](https://i.imgur.com/MmQV79M.png)
