Wisconsin,rural,landscape,architecture, impressionist
Whenever I see the exuberant blossoms of late spring I am reminded of my grandmother Adeline. The Great Depression and subsequent illnesses took an immeasurable toll from my mothers family. They lost a beautiful farm and lifestyle in rural Ozaukee county, Wisconsin. My grandparents were forced to move to the city and my grandfather traded farming for a job in a factory. Their home became a rented upper flat. I don’t believe they ever fully recovered from that loss.
When I was a child I could walk to their apartment from my grade school and I often stopped in for the cookies my grandmother always kept for company.
During these visits she would take me downstairs to her garden, the strip of soil surrounding the building, and show me her flowers. Sweet William, Bleeding Hearts, Peonies and Lilacs were punctuated by the flowers from bulbs she added each year.
It is a poignant memory, as sweet and fragrant as the blossoms she nurtured. Fragrance is a powerful trigger for memories. Recently, the scent of lilacs took me back to that small strip of land so carefully tended. And, to the farmstead that inspired a labor of longing and love.
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