"My Old Kentucky Home" Part 1

We went for a quick trip to my ol' Kentucky home place this past weekend.  I did a lot of reminiscing with my brother visiting places where we grew up as kids.  Our backyard play area was hundreds of acres of woodland and creeks with plenty of "hollers" to explore.  When it was time to go home mom would just step out on the back porch and give a loud holler and those hills would echo with her voice.  We stopped what we were doing and hollered back and took off runnin' for home.  If we were too far away to hear, she would lay on the car horn and that's when we knew we'd better hurry!  We followed deer paths, creeks, and hollers to head on back.  Faith asked me "did you ever get lost?".....no, as long as you headed down the holler to the creek and back up the other side you could find your way home. 
Nowadays, mom spends time sewing quilts and Dad restores old tractors and always looks forward to visits from us kids.
We sure had a great time in Ky!  Here are a few pictures if you'd like to see what a 'holler' looks like and see what kids used to do to entertain themselves way back in the hills of Kentucky.



Meet your wilderness guide, my brother, Billy Ray.  He is friendlier than he looks in this picture.  haha

Ready to head down the deer trail to 'our playground'?

We use to sit on this root and fish....it seemed so much bigger when we were kids.

We used to build camp sites and here is one.  All that is left is an old bus seat that Billy had carried down for us to sit on.  It's just a rusty metal frame now.  There used to be a lean-to over it made out of branches.

Maybe an ol' coon used to live here....

An ol' turkey claw....

Our creeks were full of clay slabs and you could get them wet and make things out of it.  Here Billy is showing Faith how to do it.

Of course I had to get in on it too.....

Here is our lumpy bowls.....we didn't take time to make them very nice.  We used to do this alot when we were kids.

 Headin' through the thicket...

Billy said, "I used to lay down like this when I was coon huntin' and wait for my dogs to start bayin'."

Aww, friends.

The remains of an old log barn....

A rock fence coming down from the old barn....

Billy found some "yellow root"....good for what ails ya.

"I have run past this tree many a night when I was coon huntin' as a kid!"

Who will fall off the log?

See Karl carrying a big hunk of clay?  We brought it home with us so we can make some more things out of it.

Another camp site....the remains of the lean-to made out of cedar logs.

Did you ever see such big thorns?

Ouch!

Here is the barn way down in the holler where Karl ask me to wear his class ring 24 years ago.

Below is a big hollow tree where we used to play when we were kids.  It was big enough for us to crawl in the bottom and come out the top.  A big buzzard flew out just as Billy looked in!   There were eggs in the bottom.
We thought this tree would last forever as kids. It's just a snag now.

 "I stood with the old trees up there in the woods other day and I started weeping. Brother Wood and I was out in the woods. And I noticed it. That great big tree had its great, strong branches out like that. I thought, "What a wonderful tree." I used to break pieces off of it, couldn't afford a tent, and make a little shelter rest and get back under it at night when it was raining when we would be fishing, staying out all night.
And when I, just as a kid, and I thought this tree will stand here for hundreds and hundreds of years. It's nothing but a snag now. What is it? No, matter how strong and how powerful it was, everything mortal has to give away to immortality.Bro. Branham 56-0902


Skippin' rocks at the ol' swimmin' hole...

Billy gave us all walking sticks carved out of cedar trees.

 Are you out of breath from hikin' in the hills with us?

Stayed tuned for quilts, fishin', singin, and more!