Roots.

< This is the barn where we store the hay that we make all summer. The long metal device in the front is a moving chain with teeth that transports the hay bales into the barn. If it is the beginning of the summer, then they tumble down, down to the floor with a crash, but by August the bales are stacked several stories high and we climb ladders to get on top and into the dusty, oppressively hot rafter atmosphere.

^The barn and silos from across the street, where my grandparents live.

< The hay rake with circular tines (metal teeth that comb the grass and gather the hay into a neat "wind row"). Normally when I rake hay I use a different rake with one long cylinder of tines.

< The portal to the barnyard.

> One of the tractors. It's hitched to the hay mower, which cuts alfalfa and clover like a lawn mower cuts grass. The cutting has to be left out in the sun to dry for a few days before it's ready to be turned over into neat rows with the hay rake. We usually bale three cuttings per field each summer.

< The gas tanks where we fill up the tractors.

< Mayweed, which grows everywhere during the summer and is probably the flower that represents my childhood, along with lilacs and daylilies.

> One of the nanny goats I used to own and milk. Her name is Loty. My mamma goats were very friendly and craved attention. Sometimes they would stand with their heads totally limp in my hands and lap as I would scratch their ears. One of their favorite treats was a piece of bread with honey smeared on it. I can't think of any more calming activity in the world than milking a goat. The rythmic swoosh of milk hitting the side of a metal pail and the smell of dust and fur and the effusion of warmth from their skin seeping into my cheek made the whole world seem dreamy and peaceful.

< Bambi, my other nanny goat.

 < Horses! I wish I rode more.

> One of the moveable farm fowl pens my grandpa makes himself. He is very talented at designing and building with wood. We use these pens to keep mother hens with chicks safe until the babies are bigger and less susceptible to predation, and to contain "problem" birds that are sick or disabled or overly aggressive. The pens have metal rings and chains that we use to pull them from one spot in the yard to another once the birds eat and trample all the grass in the enclosed area.

 

^ Muscovy ducks. They supposedly eat flies, so my grandpa keeps them around to help protect his cattle from the little pests. I'm not sure how much decimation these ducks actually inflict, and to be honest, I think they are dumb, dirty, and annoying birds. Chickens are much smarter and make better eatin' in my opinion.

< A significant facet of my identity.