A WINTER ADVENTURE WITH GRANDPA
I was raised in a house that sat on a lot of land in the corner of my Grandpa's farm. Living next door made it very convenient to visit Great-grandpa. He had lived with my grandparents ever since he'd sold his farm because of failing health.
Grandpa Pem was an old man. I was a young child. So young that people are amazed that I can remember him at all. But some of my first memories are of Grandpa and the things we did together.
Grandpa was my idol. After listening to my pleas to visit him, my mother would bundle me into my snowsuit and we'd go next door to visit Grandpa. While Mother and Grandmother talked and exchanged recipes, Grandpa Pem and I would set out for a walk.
Even now, if I close my eyes, I can still feel his work-worn hand holding my small one as we walked down the lane, the frosty snow crunching beneath our feet. Usually, our first stop was the horse barn where we would visit Punch, a bay gelding and Maude, a black mare.
Punch was a gentle horse who seemed curious about the small creature that Grandpa had brought to visit. Grandpa would set me up on Punch's broad back. Punch stood seventeen hands above the ground. I felt like a queen on her throne as I sat there scratching a sensitive spot between his ears. When I stopped, he would push his head back, asking for more. Then, he would turn his head, his large brown eyes watching my every move. I would reach out with my small hand and rub the blaze on his forehead. He seemed to love the touch of my tiny fingers on his head. I adored him.
When Grandpa lifted me down, I would say goodbye to Punch and he would nuzzle my baby face with his velvety nose. I would giggle with delight and give him a final pat. As we left, closing the door behind us, Punch would neigh gently, as if asking us to come again soon.
From the horse barn, Grandpa and I would walk over to the pond in the barnyard. In summer, the cows and horses watered there. The ducks, drake and ducklings would swim with the gander, geese and goslings, splashing and diving. But in winter, to this small girl, it was an enchanted fairyland of beauty. Deep drifts of snow sparkled in the sunlight and the glassy ice glittered.
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