Interests as a kid...

 

These shots were taken by my father in different years for different Science projects I'd been assigned in perhaps 6th and 7th grade? I don't exactly recall. However, by my 7th grade I can recall that I no longer needed glasses. The boy's ugly frames that I endured [I constantly broke girly frames as I was a tomboy] got put away for quite a few years.

The projects were leaf and tree identification and insect identification. My mom was all in on these projects. I'm not going to analyze it but without her help, I wouldn't have done half as well. On the leaf project, I recall getting an A. The comment below my grade was: Mrs. Rogers A+.

I fessed up that mom helped me. After all ironing leaves in wax and mounting them in an artistic way wasn't really my forte at that time.

The projects however were not lost totally on me even though I forgot all about them until my brother scanned these slides and sent them to us girls. My mom was an involved mom. There was no doubt that she was invested in us and our education. It was very serious business. Was it because her education was not that great? I won't know. Nor am I going to dwell on it. 

She however did teach us to be detail oriented. I wanted to label a leaf as Maple Leaf. Nope. It had to be the right description. Not just Maple. Sugar maple, Red Maple, Silver Maple, and so forth. We probably even typed in the Scientific name for each tree. Mom did the typing as she made less mistakes and didn't waste whiteout.

In a way, I wish the tree leaf project was still in existence. I think perhaps it would be fun to do this again. Collect leaves, photo them, ID them, and put it all on a photo page as my own private 'tree' book.

Back then, there was no Google Lens to discover what we'd seen. We'd collect, preserve, and look it up in a handbook. I still prefer to do things that way. Of course, my neighbor is a Forester and knows his trees, so if I really get stumped, I could ask for his help.

Years ago, I did a project like that with wildflowers and odd plants I'd come across while hiking within walking distance of our farm. It was a year long project and I used a handbook from the University of Wisconsin to ID wildflowers. The year was 2009 and Google Lens still didn't exist.

I found that this method of looking, taking photos and then looking through a book was for more educational than using an app. 

[Though it is fun to do, I think names stick with me better if I have to manually search and use my brain.]

So I shouldn't be surprised that I am following this path of interest. When you live a life with many hours of solitude, you start to take incredible interest in the things around you. 

Or...is it age? Why am I so intent on learning now and not earlier? More time? 

It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I enjoy it and it keeps me active.

The tree leaves below belong to a Slippery Elm [ Ulmus rubra ].
Oddly enough, the Box Elder bugs were gathered on this tree and not the Box Elder 10 feet away. I'm happy to discover that I can tell the Slippery Elm by its leaves and the feel of its leaves compared to the Ironwood which grows on the other side.

I still like learning. It is fun.

Memories

My brother and his wife took care of my father in his last few years of life. This was all before I became a Caregiver myself. They did this while raising children on their own.

My dad lived in a modified area downstairs in my brother's house. I really do think it was an act of selflessness that impresses me to no end. 

My dad had 'stuff' that he'd brought with him. You know, the usual stuff. Photos, slides, and papers that we like to hang on to.

Recently my brother had to go through my dad's things again and do more sorting for a documentary that was being done on a place my father worked at. 

I opened the box and started going through it. A Time Capsule! There was a photo of me at 18 months old with one shoe on, one shoe off and holding a Mickey Mouse guitar backwards. I guess you can say that my musical abilities were abysmally evident even at that young age.

Then there was a photo of my dad sitting with my brother and I. Dad was wearing a kids' cowboy hat. He looks somewhere between perplexed and slightly embarrassed that his picture was being taken. Or he is just trying to figure out what my brother is trying to do. 

I am just sitting there staring off into the distance:

Eventually a doctor suggested eye surgery to help me see. It was a success and paired with glasses I could see. Not like normal people [I didn't learn until much later that my depth perception doesn't exist], but I got along just fine. 

I was definitely my 'own' person.

One of the most startling items I found was an undated assignment from school in which I must have been practicing cursive writing.

It was a letter to each of my parents.

It is interesting to note what I said to each of my folks then. Dad was the softy, he might scold in a mild tone or let me know that what I'd done wrong was indeed wrong..., but he never raised a hand to me.

My mom for whatever reason seemed to delight in finding things I'd done wrong and being the punisher. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Her anger was swift and punishment immediate on all levels. 

She was very hard to please and I'd said something like that in my cursive assignment. More along the lines of 'I like to make you happy.' 

I wonder why dad kept those papers?

In the letter to him, I mentioned that I liked how 'he yelled at me'. The preference for one parent over the other was glaringly obvious in the two pages I read.

I see it now. I wonder IF they saw it then?

Oh and I wonder if I am reading too much into something written so long ago.

Mom was always difficult for me to please. Dad never seemed disappointed. 
I think I'll just go with that.

I am so tickled to be able to go through this box of items. What a Time Capsule.