Childhood I Postcard

....seeing this old wooden post fence last week on some random Utah roadside inspired me to do a series of 'Childhood Memories' cards. As a child, it was always such a big treat to get to tag-along with Papa as he surveyed his fences, herds, & orchards. I remember Nana would get up early before sunrise & pack a great big paper bag lunch of PB&J sandwiches for us, each one wrapped carefully in wax paper. It was Papa's land, so along the way, we'd pick & eat what we wanted of the fresh berries & fruits. (I also remember how incredibly HEAVY that stinkin' old jug full of water seemed!!) - But, that was just the deal, - no matter how small you were - if you wanted to tag-along, you had to carry the water jug! - LOL - We'd spend nearly a full day walking those fence-lines, picking up trash, shooing horseflies, & checking the wire & posts for downs & breaks. There were rusty, old tin cans, like the ones that used to hold condensed milk or soups, & they were slid down on the posts, covering the tops of the fence posts... (perhaps they were there to help keep out moisture & stop the post from weathering too badly [? lol] I dunno. It never really occurred to me to ask why. All I knew was there were tons of great bugs hiding under them - like HUGE scorpions & spiders! ;) Then, when the cans had been out in the elements long enough & begun to fall apart, we'd make a special trek around to change them all out for new ones that still had their labels on. Everything about it was fun & no one ever said a word of complaint, & the biggest thing I remember about these times was being so awestruck at the miles and miles and seeming endless MILES of wooden posts & strings of barbed wire as far as the eye could see. I'd watched Papa & his farm hands dig newer post holes around the barns; sometimes with regular post-hole diggers, somtimes with a shovel, & sometimes the men woul have to use a pick-axe to loosen the harder, rocky soil first. Either way, you ended up with the most horrible blisters, even if you wore gloves..... All I could think to myself was how long it took to do all that & what a hard job it was..... Now, when I see one of these old fence lines, it takes me back to that time, to those fun memores, & gives me a good feeling to imagine the strength of character, determination, & the patient, diligent spirit of the folks who put it there.... I bet they were like Papa... ;)