summertime2

The creek had a life of its own. The creek bed was rock with silt at the bottom of the water with slippery moss growing on the wet rocks. There were tadpoles that swam around and eventually became frogs and moved onto land. There were small crayfish which we called "crawdads". Never go into the water barefoot if you see "crawdads". When they pinch they don't want to let go. There were tiny minnows that swam in the water. If anything disturbed the water the minnows would dart into the crevaces of loose rocks to hide. The minnows never grew large enough to eat. We never caught them because they were too fast. If someone was fast enough to catch the fish it was usually put back into the creek water. There were also baby water snakes too.
   If it was a very dry summer with no rain for a few weeks, the water in the creek would get very low and barely run. The mountains would be even dryer and animals and snakes would come down to the lower creek beds for water. The animals were no problem but most of the snakes were poison and everyone had to be looking around when they were outside.
   A trip into the mountains surrounding our home was a wonderful assault on your sense of smell and hearing. The woods could be very noisy from the sounds of the animals scurrying, insects, birds and from far off the sound of dogs barking down in the valley. It was always cool in the woods no matter how hot it was. The ground under the trees could be hard from rocks and dry soil to a cushion step from the pine needles, leaves rottening, decaying broken branches and moss formations.
    We always let our imaginations go wild. One time we would be indians looking for food to tracking animals or we would be cowboys tracking the indians. We stayed in the mountains until the sun started sinking low in the sky. As brave as we were in the day light none of us wanted to get stuck in the woods at night. We would eat as the indians did, there were lots of berries, fruit, nuts, seeds and wild plants. Water was usually easy to find too.
     Every spring the mountains came alive with new growth and fragrances. A favorite past time then and now was to go to the mountains and pick wild greens as a food source. From ramps, mustard greens and poke salad. My Mamow Cloud loved mustard greens and poke salad with hot bacon fat pourned over them with a piece of hot cornbread from the oven. There was also wealth in the mountains if you were willing to walk up those hills to look for a special type leaf with small red berries and dig up their roots. I am talking about Gin Sing. My dad never had much cash money but he dug "Sang" as it was called. The roots were dried and sold, to whom I don't know but the money he got helped him to buy things that were needed.
    I hope this story helps you to close your eyes and hear, smell and see the wonders I have described.