The time between preparing the bungalow and starting our summer vacation at the Lake was about one and one half months. School in New York, school is in session until the later part of June. It seemed as though the last days of school would never arrive!! Soon we would be heading for upstate NY and those lazy; days of summer would finally begin!! Soon we would be heading for our Summer cottage where thoughts of homework and routine of getting up early in the am which I hated would be at an end for a while. I am such a Sanguine personality and need space, so the carefree atmosphere of the Country suited me well.
When school let out I was hip hip horray!! Here I am running across the street.. this picture was in the local newspaper!!
One of the first things I would do when we got to the bungalow, was to check out the back of our house. I felt like I was finally there when I could see the cows grazing… and the other thing I felt compelled to do was to take off my shoes and go barefoot. I wanted the freedom that summer offered, and to feel the grass under my feet without any constrictions. I barely ever wore shoes during the summer. It was really painful for the first week or so while my feet built up calluses, but it just would not be summer in the country wearing shoes!! By the end of the summer, I could walk on pebbles, stones and pretty much any area without even thinking about it.
The next thing I would usually do was to take my bike out for a ride as soon as it was unpacked. It was a schwinn and I thought it was so cool!! The color pictured is red, but mine was green, it had a wicker basket for carrying things and the neatest streamers to add pizazz and they flapped in the breeze when I went fast. Heart be still!! Those were the days.
The flowers at the Lake in the Summer were so pretty. Honeysuckle grew on vines trailing up the side of the Pavilion. I would suck on the inside of the flower to draw the sweet honey flavor out, and the Bluebells along the way were such a beautiful color and shape. I always looked forward to the huge Sunflowers in Nana's backyard and the Lazy Susan's in the field on the way to the Lake, and of course the happy little daisies, fragrant roses in gorgeous colors and such. There were also whispy Weeping Willow trees and the area was surrounded by Apple Orchards.My parents weren't gardeners, my Mom like me had a "black thumb". We tried too hard to make plants live and killed them instead!
There was an area that was kind of open on the way to the Pavilion that had so many Dandelions. I used to lay on the grass and pick some of them when they went to seed and blow them away and watch as they danced into the sky!
Good Old Summertime like the song was time for sitting and relaxing, drinking fresh orange juice Mom made and being happy and free spirited.
Orange Juice glasses
Lyrics: Good Olde Summertime Song
In the good old summertime, in the good old summertime.
Strolling through the shady lanes with your baby mine.
You hold her hand, and she holds yours,
and that's a very good sign.
That she's your tootsie-wootsie,
in the good old summertime.
CROWD:
In the good old summertime, in the good old summertime.
Strolling through the shady lanes with your baby mine.
You hold her hand, and she holds yours,
and that's a very good sign.
That she's your tootsie-wootsie,
in the good old summertime.
One of the things I loved doing was to take the red wagon to get drinking, cooking and bathing water. We used two huge and one smaller galvanized dairy milk containers with handles. I would go by myself or with my sister, pulling the wagon down the lane, over the bridge and about another ¼ mile down the road to the pump. It took some elbow grease to get the pump primed and running with the most crystal clear ice cold well water from a spring and I would pump and pump until every container was filled to the brim. After filling the containers, there was an aluminum dipper on the side of one of the milk containers that I filled and enjoyed my reward for my labors. I then proceeded on a slow and kind of difficult journey back to the cottage. I don’t know why I liked this chore, except maybe for the taste of the delicious well water. Oh how I wish I still had that old bent aluminum dipper cup as a souvenir of my time at Peach Lake.
I loved the peaceful days there. My father’s sister and brother and their families had cottages nearby, and I had three cousins close to my age, two girls and a younger boy. For some reason, I never did understand, they did not like me, and I believe God used that in my life to develop a heart for people who were rejected. My mother always said two is company and three is a crowd, so I guess I was the crowd! It was the first time in my life I had experienced rejection as I never lacked for friends in my hometown. It was such a stark difference from the relationships I had at home. So, I learned through these summers how to be happy by myself. My sister had friends at Peach Lake and she seemed to be gone so much of the time. She was four years older than I am too with a completely different personality so I was more of a pest to her than anything else. But, being the youngest, I just adored her. I thought she was funny, pretty, smart and confident, I still do!
Gwen and Me together my first Christmas
I can still picture my sister in a beautiful tulle prom gown similar to the one pictured, but in blue. I wanted to be just like her! Being 4 yrs younger, I often said things that made my sister want to strangle me, like asking one of her boyfriends if we as going to kiss her! LOL
Oh My!
Peach Lake Memories is a 15 Chapter book with vignettes about my childhood memories. It is copyrighted. Please ask for permission before using any information in my book. Thank you .. donnatrex@yahoo.com
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