My Grandparents

I had the BEST grandparents in the world!  They were kind and wise and excellent teachers!  My grandparents loved cooking and gardening of course! There was always a story to be told and many of those storytelling times were in the kitchen with my grandma (grams) cooking, and my grandpa (gramps) harvesting the vegetable bounty they grew. He was always helping grams in the kitchen,  or shelling nuts down in his special basement workshop. Today we would have called that his "Man Cave". He even had his own bathroom!!  Holidays and family gatherings were a special time with my grandparents, filled with laughter, love, and of course, food!

My father's dad also had a passion for fishing and gardening. He had a small garden of his own and enjoyed nature and spending time sitting on his front porch watching the birds and critters that came around to partake in the daily feedings he would offer. My grandparents, sadly, have all passed on and recently my dad gave me a box of things that belonged to my grandpa.  I found among the pictures, drawings, and odds and ends, a poem I want to share. 

July, 1976

To My Garden

I spray and hoe to make things grow,

     The bugs and weeds defy me.

Seems harvest time will never come,

     And summer's heat does fry me.

The beetles take the juicy melons,

     Tomatoes shrivel on the vine.

Green peppers on the ground lay broken,

     I should have stuck to making wine! 

My grandfather was an artist, gardener, master fisherman, and unbeknownst to me, a poet.

 I miss them all every day.