Sisters, circa 1936

Sisters, circa 1936, originally uploaded by confections.

My Aunt Margaret (left) and my mother (right) on their farm in rural Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, circa 1936.

Before she died, my mother described the farm and its buildings to me and I made a few small drawings. We looked up the site on Google Earth; a lot had changed, but we were able to pinpoint the property.

I lost my mother on Valentine's Day, but my Aunt Margaret is alive and well. I want to gather more stories from her while I have the privilege to do so.

More than likely, the dresses my aunt and mother are wearing were made by my grandmother, who was an excellent seamstress and needleworker. My sister has an ecru tablecloth crocheted by her, and I have a needlework bag she made that is designed to hang over the wrist to hold yarn or crochet thread.

A decade ago, Aunt Margaret gave my sister and me some handmade lace that our great-aunts had created during their lifetimes. My sister used it to edge some gauzy curtains in her home. Those curtains have worn out, but the lace has survived and remains a treasured heirloom in our family and a testament to women's textile art.

Vintage Pony Ride

Vintage Pony Ride, originally uploaded by confections.

As summer in the northern hemisphere dwindles down, I begin savoring its last little bits nostalgically. The Harvest Moon in Pisces yesterday signaled autumn's imminent return.

I took this snapshot of my little brother (riding the pony) and two of my cousins when I was a teenager in the 1960's. We were visiting my aunt and cousins on their farm in Indiana.

The corn was high, the tomatoes ripe, and the aromatic farmhouse kitchen bustled with activity. This image evokes the playfulness of childhood and the languor of August for me.

I hope you have a good harvest this year.

Vermont Farm, Sunday Dinner 1909

Vermont Farm, Sunday Dinner 1909, originally uploaded by confections.

This amazing early photo was sent to me by a long-lost cousin along with some genealogical research done by her son. What a gift! My mother's family comes from Vermont, and this photo was taken in Caledonia County.

I know quite a lot about my Great-Aunt Jean Elizabeth, who is pictured on the far right at the table (click the photo for the full image). She had been a school teacher for many years, then married a distant cousin and returned to the family homestead from Pennsylvania, where she was born.

In May of 1910 she gave birth to a daughter, but tragically my great-aunt died in September of 1910 of an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. She was just 36 years of age. Her daughter was raised on the homestead in Vermont, married and moved to Ohio, and lived a long life (she died at 88 years of age).

I love working with the puzzle pieces of genealogy and am overjoyed when bits like this fall into my lap. I will leave you with an image of Jean's infant daughter, being bathed by her mother, and one of her being held naked in the summer garden in a rare candid for the time. Women hold up half the sky!