Our prompt from Sally this week is to take a photo that triggers a memory and to reminisce. Recently I was reminded of a very special summer when I was 11 by the cottony seeds flying in the air from this great tree. There is a long line of them in a town near where I live.
We call them giant sycamore trees. And they in turn remind me of the giant cottonwood tree that grows out west: in particular, northern Arizona. It was the summer when my parents sent me to a horse camp in northern Arizona. Just an amazing experience for 6 long weeks on a ranch. Each camper was assigned a horse to care for and ride. My memories are of long rides on endless acres of unfenced land and then coming across the lone giant cottonwood-- a beacon and a sign that water is nearby; a memory of a dry arroya suddenly filling with a 3 foot high bank of rushing water after a thunderstorm; passing the test after learning the correct names for all the parts of a horse, saddle, bridle and how to care for and groom them and earning the status of no longer being considered a tenderfoot. I had many incredible and wonderful experiences that summer besides riding every day. I learned how to tool leather and made a belt, I had a close group of friends in our bunkhouse, we had campfires and sing alongs and a camping expedition to the Grand Canyon. And I encountered my first bout of homesickness. When the summer was over, several of us and an adult boarded the train and rode all the way to New York City where my family met me at Grand Central Station. It was truly a summer of adventure and personal growth that revisits me whenever those cottony seeds fly. I will always be grateful to my parents for their wisdom in making it possible for me to have these experiences
To see what others have reminisced about this week click HERE.
