Friday, January 29, 2010

Springs

Our fifteen acres was blessed with numerous springs. We children enjoyed watching the water gurgle out of the ground. The one spring was located at the edge of our patch of woods and was the start of a creek that then meandered its way through the community till it was joined by several others and wound up in the Casselman River.

Another spring was in our front yard. It was really big and Daddy dug a ditch and laid pipes in it to direct the water into a tank in the pasture for our animals. He made that the overflow would run back into the creek from which it had been diverted. This spring had some of the coldest, sweetest water that could be found. Even in the summer it was cold enough that Mom would often float covered bowls of food to cool them off and keep them cold. An occasional watermelon would be placed in it at the shallow end to get crispy cold by evening when we would watch as Daddy would retrieve it and cut it open and we would sit on the front porch and enjoy eating it

There was a big slab stone beside the spring and we used to enjoy sitting on it and listen to the water and pretend we were fishing. If we were brave we would dip our toes in the water but it was so cold we didn't want to keep them in the water longer than a few seconds.

There were a few seasonal springs too. One of them was in the basement of the house. Whoever had built the house must have wanted to have a running spring there because there was a trough deal set up for a place for the water to run through and a drain at the end to guide it outdoors to the creek.

Several other springs were scattered throughout the pasture and the front yard under the chestnut tree. Daddy used to be glad once those dried up by summertime, but I was always sad since I thought you can never have too much water to play in or springs to watch.

One day when we came home from school we decided to play by the big spring until it was time to go make supper. As we sat on the slab we noticed something moving in the water. Upon looking closer we saw what appeared to be a crawdad. David got all excited and wanted to catch it to show it to Mom and Daddy. He leaned down and grabbed for it but the water was deeper and the crawdad faster than he gave either of them credit for. The next instant he fell in headfirst. As he tried to stand up John and I managed to grab hold of him and drag him out. We headed for the house where Mom met us at the door. She got David into dry clothes and John and I helped get supper on the table.

A few days later we were disappointed to hear that Daddy had plans to cover the spring. He didn't want anyone else falling into it. We were in school when they fixed it so that the water all ran underground until it reached the tank in the pasture.

It continued to be a source of great drinking water but it would no longer provide a place to chill watermelons and other food.

12 comments:

  1. Wonderful memories. When I was a freshman in high school we moved to a small farm and we had an old fashioned pump well. That was was always really cold and the best drinking water around for us. Thanks for reminding me of those days with your post.

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  2. My parents would drive for many miles to go sample various springs. They loved the "ozone" ones and swore by the health benefits of the water.

    In a small town in Texas where I briefly lived, my son found a wet spot in the ground. Months went by, and he began digging at it. A little bit of water appeared...then it began to pool...then eventually to flow down to the nearby river. I don't know if the spring is still there.

    Your childhood home just sounds like it was a beautiful setting.

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  3. How nice to have natural springs (and potentially troublsome too, I suppose).
    Our winter creek is a source of pleasure for children, dogs, ducks and always disappointing to see it dry up in the late spring.

    Trickle, trickle, trickle.....

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  4. Love your recollections. Where you lived sounds absolutely beautiful. How sad tho that the spring was covered up, being parents tho I guess they were thinking about the danger.
    Thanks for sharing!

    until next time... nel

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  5. Your post brought back a flood gate of memories for me as a child on our farm. We had a well house, and as you described in your post the water was COLD, yet the freshest tasting water, ever!
    Thanks for sharing
    ~~HUGS~~

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  6. Oh, I love springs! I've been on a quest to find a spring nearby that I could fetch water from when it fancied me. So far, I know of two. One is not too far down the road, but unfortunately downhill from a large dog breeding kennel and all their waste. The other has been capped by a well house and I can't get to the source unless I'm brave enough to enter the dark, rickety building.

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  7. As always, I so enjoy reading your writings/memoirs.

    I was just 'sick' when DH's Father closed off the spring in their backyard ... memories you speak of rush moments of our childhood.

    Have a beautiful weekend.

    TTFN ~ Marydon

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  8. Why do grown-ups have to take the fun out of everything?? It's not like you left him in there or anything. ha ha Safety first - how many times do we say that to the kiddos? Meanwhile they're thinking, 'how about fun first and safety second??'. Have a great weekend ~ ♥

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  9. Interesting to have a spring in the basement!
    I enjoyed the story. Probably wise to cover the spring before a childhood disaster occurred...

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  10. I remember old Spring Houses here and there among the valleys of Holmes County. Most of them in my memory was made to cool milk in big cans, where the milk man later picked up the milk.

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  11. Thanks for reminding me of those days with your post.

    Work from home India

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  12. What a fun memory!! We had a spring in the field at the base of a large hill where my sisters and I used to catch tadpoles and bring them to the house with water from the sping, Then watch them turn into frogs. Sometimes dozens of them would be hopping around the back yard but Mom never complained.
    I hope your husband will find the time to share his memories with us. I enjoy your blog so much I'm sure I will love his too.

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.