Nostalgia

“Neigh, Neigh!” Oh, how I loved to imitate the sound made by a horse.  

 This old black and white photo was taken in the mid- 50’s and brings back faint memories of homemade toys.

This “rocking horse” was made by one of my dad’s relatives, but I don’t remember which uncle actually engineered and built it for us. The horse was painted red.  Because of its design, it had a little different gait; that up and down motion was so relaxing to me.  It was a favorite homemade toy.  My brother, being two years younger, couldn’t ride it by himself at this point, and I hope I took full advantage of that!  I didn’t realize how competitive things would get as he got older.

This picture was taken in the back yard. A white picket fence enclosed the yard.  The  cottonwood tree grew to be quite a bit bigger, and we hung a swing from its branches in later years.  The spindly aspen trees must not have made it, because I don’t remember them at all.  The grass looks a bit long, uneven, and rather scraggly; my parents may have been trying to get a lawn established at this point, but this end of the yard always needed more attention.  

 Just to the left of the photo is where our wire clothesline was located.  So on a summer’s day, if I wasn’t riding my horse in the yard, I was probably helping mom hang the laundry.