Grampie’s Holdin’ Out…so Junkin’ Got Done- GRAMMIE STYLE.

Grab a snack some kleenex (cuz you might laugh till you cry) and a coffee kids…this is going to be a LONG (and rather silly) post…ready? Good…lets get this party started!

I spent some time out at my parent’s farm this past week. The first day I was there was Canada Day…

We went for a walk around their yard…take a look at what we saw…

When you first drive into their yard site, you are greeted by their land location, prominently mounted on an old wooden wagon that was left on the property years ago…

It once was planted thick with portulaca, but since they do not live out here full time anymore…it has been re-planted with a pretty perennial ground cover…which…I do not know the name of…so if anyone can help us…

…this is it. Anyone?

Then off to the right…just a few feet away…you will see this…(the stakes show the kids where NOT to drive the quads…there are baby trees planted in this line…) The display is breathtaking.

This huge square used to hold mostly marigolds. Grammie stuck a couple of Tiger Lily plants in about two years ago…and added some gout weed (snow on the mountain) in the lower part…and look at it now!

so pretty when in bloom!

(the bird is made of wood- not a real bird)

This gout weed spreads like fire…and keeps the weeds down very well.

Just up a little further to the left of the drive is this gate. My sister and I used to come to this area a lot when we were kids. It was the best adventure around.

Just inside that gate is a dugout with an island right in the middle.

My dad (Grampie) used to have an old dingy that we would put in the water and some oars that we would paddle our little hearts out all the way around this pond…we would stop, tie our dingy up and play on the island…we found all kinds of wonders there…salamanders, frogs, special rocks, pieces of wood…you name it…we had sooooooo much fun!

The dingy eventually was worn out and was taking on water…so it is no longer…(thank God- my kids would have given me heart attacks trying to row around that thing) but the memories that this area brings to mind are precious to me.

Up the lane a bit further…we came across a path mowed into the trees.. There are a lot of these little teaser paths all over the place here…they lead to wonderful views of the gardens.

That one took us to the greenhouse. I used to be so jealous of this building…I NEEDED one of my own soooo bad…and now I have one too. This one is not used at the moment…a spring snow storm caved a couple of the windows on the roof in…and since they are not full time out here..they are not worried about planting right now. When they retire it BETTER be fixed…cuz a greenhouse is a MUST in a yard this size! Ya hear me Grampie!!!!?

Just a few feet from the greenhouse is the gazebo (which will be the subject of future posts…as I am working on a project with Grammie for this beautiful structure)

I loved this years ago when I bought it for them as a gift…and I still do…it is bird bath with a fancy pigeon in it.

The path around it is made from recycled bricks from the basement of the old house that once stood abandoned on the property.

When inside the gazebo you can look right and see the old rake, the rock bed and…

The “FORT” built for the kids nestled in the trees…

Look to the left …and you will see a man hard at work…

That’s the ‘Duch”…helping Grampie…

Who is hard at work cutting down dead and unwanted shrubs and trees…

My lovely assistant ‘Busy’ was ‘assisting’ her big bro …

okay…not so much helping…as riding around ‘bossing’ and stepping on the air valve of the trailer tires so many times that it had to be changed not once…but twice! (sorry Grampie- she IS lucky she’s so cute I’m sure of that)

Where’s ‘ Georgie’ you ask?

Yep! That’s her…up that big ol’ tree having a wonderful time enjoying the scenery!

Right beside that gazebo…is a church pew from the old church we used to attend as kids. (they re-built it and used new pews…so Grammie and Grampie bought a couple as ‘park pews’… if you sit on that pew…you will be looking at…

Heaven on earth! My dad built this space. It is actually two ponds joined by a pretty little arched bridge that he also built. The ponds were built when he had exotic birds out here. The Ducks and fancy geese that he used to raise, (among other types of birds such as peacocks and pheasants…etc) used to keep the weeds and grass from over growing in the water. Right now it is a bit grassy…but still just as pretty. The immediate pond is just round…the one behind the bridge has another island in it. I think it should get sprinkled with wild flower seeds…wouldn’t that look fantastic??? If they lived here full time…this place would be loaded with flowers…but alas…they allow it to be “au-natural” for now.

Oh it is just sooooo pretty!

walk with me some more…

I see a path…and I NEED to take you there.

Remember I told you guys how my dad is the KING of junkin’ and that the garage used to be referred to as the ‘superstore’? Well…to my utter dismay, the garage is now empty and there are cars parked inside! (how RUDE!!!!) What I didn’t know…is that not all of the ‘gold’ was gone…

See this? It used to be the pheasant house.

This is the pump house…

There a lots of ‘houses’ that used to hold exotic and expensive birds…but now…they hold the treasures that absolutely make my heart pound and my imagination race!!!!

This one used to be the bantam house. It also held some fancy Geese at one time…and even some sheep! It is just magical to me with the moss growing on the cedar roof…

Even the tree outside this little house is pretty with it’s yellow moss…inside that house…is junkin’ GOLD I tell ya!!!

But Grampie…isn’t parting with his stash just yet…he’s HOGGING the goods!!! (I call it wasting---just shameful!) Yep! I am ticked! He has so much good stuff…and most of the sheds are LOCKED to keep people like ME out!!!! Yep! I was disappointed…the things he could do with some of that stuff…man!!! I would be posting everyday for years just to share the projects!!! But NOOOOOO… Grampie is ‘SAVING’ it…WHAT EVER!!! I will be back…and I will be loading that junkin’ gold into my truck…even if I have to sneak in the back way when he’s sleepin’ and raid the place…hee-hee!

I went home ticked off!!! But…two days later on July 4th…I drove the 2 1/2 hours back to the farm…still obsessing over the sheds filled with gold…that I can’t have!

Grammie was laughing at the dismay on my face at all the fun I was missing out on…so she suggested we do a little junkin’ /okay exploring of our own. Ready to do a little junkin’ Grammie style? Get ready to laugh guys…this is where the stupid starts!

When we were kids, there was an old man that lived just across the country road from us. We adopted this old man…and he was like a grandpa to us. He has passed on a few years back, and his place has since been abandoned by his family- who has no idea what they passed up!

Grammie and I decided to take a walk over to his place just for the sake of memories. It has been years since I was there…and my sis and I used to go visit all the time, clean and play with the old guy…and just imagine being pioneers in the big old house. I was a beautiful place at tone time. Manicured yard…beautiful flower and veggie garden…LOTS of trinkets and treasures from the old man’s mother all over that house. We LOVED to visit and play!

Since it has been abandoned and sold, my mom is nervous to go in the drive way…so she points the way…through the trees…THIS CAN’T BE GOOD…but I go anyways.

yep…we hiked our butts through the thick underbrush…

kinda pretty isn’t it…that nettle isn’t the nicest thing if you get stung by it…but it does look pretty all under the trees…

it looked so magical…like it would go on forever!

Some of the HUGEST mushrooms this Tootsie has ever seen were in there too….

HUGE!

That’s Grammie’s hand! HUGE I tell ya!!!

But we persevered…through the bush…only to have Tootsie’s heart broken.

That big old house from my childhood memories…has been vandalized. DESTROYED! Holes cut in walls…ceilings destroyed…hardwood floors…devastated…you could see the sky from the first floor!!!

Grammie said that until a few years back it was salvageable. That someone could have restored this once majestic structure to its glory. The house is over 100 years old today…and is in such a state of disrepair that it is not salvageable at all. I didn’t believe her. I desperately wanted to say that someone would be able to love it enough…to bring it back to life…so I talked her into going up close…up the front steps and peeking through the shattered windows.

And so we did. We managed our little feet up the decaying stairs…and got close enough to peer past the trash that is left on the veranda…I was crushed. NOTHING but ruins inside. The hardwoods are destroyed…every window smashed…the place was vandalized…every room is destroyed…the kitchen appliances smashed and tossed all over…just awful.

Now…Being me…I opened the front door a bit to take a better look…we walked into the living room…and at that exact moment we hear a loud voice say “please enter the code”

we were shocked…and SCARED. Grammie is looking at me… I am looking at her…and we hear it again.

“please enter the code”

I swear to you guys…we both almost loaded our panties! We were supposed to be alone…sneaking in for a little peek at a place that holds fond memories! Who the heck is asking us for a code???? ARE WE BUSTED???

RUN GRAMMIE!!!! RUN!!!

So we –being the brave blondes that we are…ran…BUT…the voice came with us!!!

“please enter the code”

I stopped…looked at her and said “what the hell is the code?”

She says “I don’t know!”

We hear: “that is not the correct code. Please enter the code”

It was at that time that I realized…we were not busted…just stupid. The voice…was coming from inside Grammie’s pants. SHE must have bumped her cell phone on something, and triggered the voice command feature.

Oh how we laughed…and laughed…and laughed! We were crying we laughed so hard…partly cuz we were embarrassed…and partly cuz we were relieved that we were not busted! I was also laughing cuz…even Grammie’s pants are bossy sometimes!!! ha- ha-ha-ha!!! Grammie!!!! Ha-HA!!!

So…we headed back to our side of the road…again through the bushes…on the way I found an old heat vent. Very rusted out and very ornate. I picked it up…and took a piece of my childhood memories home as a keepsake. It will also always make me giggle a little when I remember how I came upon that thing…and the silliness of junkin’ Grammie style. hee hee. I am still laughing when I think of it!

I WILL be back…this shed at Grampie’s stash…doesn’t have a lock on it…and there’s a couple things that I think have Tootsie stamped ALL over them! Since he is just hogging the good stuff...and wasting it by not using it...I think that I'm just doin' my duty as a junker...and hey...he can't get mad....after all...He's the one who taught me how to be a junkin' princess!!!

Stay tuned! It might be a midnight move! ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!

So that’s my story. I’m still laughing about the crazy adventure I had with my mom…I have not laughed that hard in YEARS!!! I just had to share…I left kids at the farm…to spend a day or two with mom and dad…Grampie invited a sleep over…if they wanted to help out a bit with more tree removal.

I hope they don’t regret it!!! (Grampie and Grammie I mean ha-ha)

See ya all in a day or two…I have some garden projects to share with ya! Justine…I finished my planter I have been working on!!! WEDNESDAY is the big reveal!

Until then…

Hugs and smiles…you all and a big HELLOOOOO to my three favorite people! (you know who you are! Winks!)

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`*.¸.*´Tootsie
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