I'm not quite sure how I ended up with my mom's bonnet.
When my mother or her mother got ready to do their outside work, on went the bonnet.
It was a homemade bonnet, and if I looked around hard enough I could probably find the pattern they used to cut out their bonnets. They all came out looking pretty much the same.
The bonnet mom used the most is on the right. The others were made for various events, like Pioneer Day.
A closeup.
Mom would spend hours and hours in the garden, so she needed the protection from the heat. She would be out there very early in the morning, before the rays of the sun would beat down on her. She would return in the evening, after the sun was no longer a threat.
I can still picture her bent over the half-acre of vegetables that were the envy of the neighborhood. Once, after my dad had made a fresh run to Canada when the smelt were running, Mom decided to make more room in the freezer in readiness for the new catch of fish. She removed several packages of smelt, and just like the Native Americans, she would put a small fish into each hill of corn, beans, etc.
Little did she know that every cat in the neighborhood would find their way to her garden and try to get those little smelts!
It didn't matter. Mom was from the hills of Kentucky and knew how to raise food, no matter what disaster befell. She had that garden going again, just like all of the rest of the gardens she had planted before.
All while wearing her bonnet.
Women don't wear bonnets and hats too much anymore. But, my sisters do. And, so do I!
Me and Mr. Kerry!
No comments:
Post a Comment