PLANK'S PITCH, 1957

Plank's Pitch, 1957, taken by Vance Dobson

So, having said in a previous post that my dad didn't take pictures from the road, I opened the photo file from 1957 to discover that he DID, and I think he did a great job of capturing the road as it curves to Plank's Pitch. 

Honestly, this picture makes my heart sing. It almost looks like a painting. The dirt lane curves, evoking a bit of mystery. Where does it go? Off in the distance is a clump of trees (on the left side of the photo), and that's the grove behind the house. You can’t quite see the house yet, but you know now that you’re nearly home. And the wildflowers complete this country scene. 

I tried unsuccessfully to take a picture from the same spot this morning, but my memory of his location was off. I think he was standing in the middle of the road right above the curve. I'll try again one day, but I guarantee it won't be the same. 

And the best thing about it is that I think that's just a great spot, and I can see that he did, too. It's like he's speaking to me. 

It's poignant in another way, too. His mother, Ina, died that spring. She's no longer waiting there at the house. Or is she?

It has been consistently 90 and above on the kitchen porch this month. It seems to me that it hardly ever got to 90 at the farm back in the day, and evenings were generally cool. I do remember that afternoons were hot upstairs, though, so I would take my book and read outside in the shade.

It's cooler by 3-4 degrees today -- hardly worth mentioning. KW