My great-aunt & great-uncle lived in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, near a small town called Sherburne (which still does exist).  My great-uncle was a farmer with both crops and dairy cows.  My great-aunt worked as a line supervisor for Norwich Pharmaceuticals. 

From the time my mother was a small girl to the time I was a teenager, we would travel to Sherburne every summer.  My grandmother and great-aunt would take their two weeks of vacation at the same time to cook three meals a day for my great-uncle and the hired help who was bringing in the crops.

Family was important to my grandmother and although she lived many miles away in Illinois, she did what was needed to help my great-aunt and to spend time with her.  They did little more than cook and clean up from meals, but they did it every summer for years.  My sister and I played in the shallow crick and felt minnows nibble our toes.  We gathered eggs and got chased by chickens, helped shell peas, and played with the kittens.

On some summer nights, my great-uncle would take us to the upper farm, high in the mountain, to see the deer.  

I’m in awe that my grandmother would spend her limited vacation working so hard, but am happy for the memories and the chance to see a different type of life.

This picture is all of us going up the mountain to look for deer.  My great-uncle loved his work horses and used them instead of tractors whenever he could.

 Word for tomorrow – DECLINE.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the list for the week under “A Word A Day”. 

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Family New York (Upstate) cooking family farming New York (upstate) Pleasant Valley postaday2011 Sherburne