This is my grandmother's home. It's about 135 years old and on its last leg literally. I'm starting to realize that I am very much like my grandmother. Things that I never noticed as a child are starting to really make sense to me now. If you look closely at the two large post in front of the house on either side of the arbor, you will notice that they are two very large metal pipes. I'm assuming they were salvaged and they put them to use. There are several of them on her property. Fenced in area on either side of the sidewalk were made from chicken wire, metal poles and gates from other fences. Bird cages were used to cover plants for decoration. They now are at my home now.
On the left side of the arbor by the tree is a dolly made from wood, wheel chair wheels and lawn mower parts. My grandparents were truly creative.
If something was broken then you used it for something else.
These old metal tubes were re-purposed into planters. She had several of these around her property.
Old gates from another fence were used for fenced in area. This gate has some stories to tell.
Left over wood was used to make a boardwalk and benches. She could sit and enjoy the weather or listen to the birds.
This boardwalk was used for many many years. Now the cats use this area for shelter. A black cat and orange cat call this place home.
Now I know this plant doesn't grow on tree's. Only thing I can think of is that grandma put them up there. Very creative and pretty. I took this plant to my home where it grows like crazy now.
This thing has never ran as far as I know. It's always been parked on the side of the house. I think its just beautiful. Inside is shag carpet and fishing equipment. It's like time stood still. For now its used for storage for her things. My grandmother never drove a day in her life. Grandpa would drive her to town.
These metal frames used to have beautiful grapes growing up them. We would pick them all the time and she would get so angry with us. In recent years she used these to hang dry her clothes. The sidewalk I remember running up and down when I was little. You can barely see it now.
This is grandma's garden area. Fenced in so the animals wouldn't eat her beautiful produce. Every summer we would go out to her house and help with her garden. Planting, weeding, harvesting, and canning. Grandpa Grey would be out with his hoe searching for weeds for hours. Until one day he passed away in the garden from a heart attack. I still know exactly where he was in the garden when he passed. RIP grandpa I miss you and love you forever. So much produce grew and came out of here.
I was speechless when I found this place. Never knew this outdoor pantry even existed. I have no idea why she didn't eat any of them. All those summers of gardening were gone to waste. Look at the hundreds of jars. Look at the beautiful sizes and shapes of them. I think surviving the depression changed her. She was always gathering and storing food in and outside her home.
This building was built strong. Very thick walls with straw in them. Dirt floor had galvanized buckets half way dug in to the dirt. I think she kept her root vegetables in there. I found a beautiful green glass bowl in there that I now have in my home and use. No words to even say about this place. Its like time stood still.
Coffee in a glass jar? Wow. I would of taken this home but I couldn't get the lid off. Maybe I will go back and get it later. Its just a very cool jar. Completely full of coffee from who knows when too.
Update: Mama went back to find this. Its now living in her kitchen.
Grandma would use anything she could to store things. Large pickle jars were her favorite. This one now lives in my home. I love it.
This was grandma's chicken coop. Made from left over wood n such. I loved watching the chickens when I was little. I still think they are so beautiful.
I just love old buildings being taken over by nature. This is a storage shed that holds all kinds of random things. This was also made from anything they had at the time.
This is the side of my grandma's house. I love the look of old wood and paint chipping off. Years of weather has taken its toll on her home.
Grandma's driveway is long and always open to anyone to stop by.
And her door was always open to anyone. Anything you needed Grandma would help with. RIP grandma Mary. I love you and miss you. You and grandpa will always be loved and not forgotten. I will tell my children all about you and teach them everything you taught me. You live on in each one of us. It still feels like your at the house. It's like your in town running errands and soon to be home. Again time standing still.
Update: House and property was sold to the neighbors. They will use this property for their animals. House will never be lived in again. Still looks like her house and feels like you could still drive up to visit her.
3 comments:
This post touches my soul. My mom and dad were not rich by monetary standards, either, but they lived a moral and beautiful life. Your photos remind me so much of my meager upbringing. I think about my life as a child daily and they are precious memories. And like you, I LOVE old bottles, old buildings, and prowling through old treasures. Thanks for your blog.
Thank you Anonymous. I think about my childhood and try to remember the good/bad because they made me who I am today.
Great post, great photos. My husbands grandparents place is like that - a few acres of a little farm, now inside city limits. There is a neat old storage building with a poch that they call the "way station." Recently found out that it was the origial hand sawn logs of his uncles one room cabin that he moved to the property and rebuilt. He still makes dried fruit, jams, etc, but is definately slowing down. Thanks again for the post.
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