Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

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Sunday 16 August 2020

Sunflowers in Grandmother's Garden

Something a little different for you this week, a fictional little piece, but some of which has some basis in fact. It is a little story I wrote for a writer's group prompt a couple of years ago. 


 There is a forest of sunflowers at the bottom of my grandmother’s garden, up against the back picket fence between the chook pen and the outhouse under the weeping trees.  

The sunflowers are so tall that when we stand among them we can only just see over the top. We crouch down on the dusty dry red dirt among their stiff scratchy stalks. The sunflower heads are so big they form a canopy shading us from the hot sun and casting a yellow glow over us. Sometimes we take a book with us and read it sitting among the sunflowers. It’s our secret world where anything is possible.  As we doze in the sun the world of the Faraway Tree comes to life under the sunflowers.

Beyond the sunflowers is grandma’s big vegetable garden stretching all the way from the back veranda to the chook pen. It seems like every vegetable you can imagine is growing there.  Every day grandma collects vegetables from the garden for our dinner, pulling up potatoes, onions and carrots with the dirt still clinging to their bulbs. Dirt pathways run between the beds and after our bath and on washing day we scoop the water out of the bath or the laundry trough with a can and water the garden.    
It’s fun to help grandma dig in the garden beds and push the seeds into the damp earth that we have watered with our bath water.  But our favourite place is the sunflower patch.
It’s a mystery how the sunflowers came to grow there. Grandma says she didn’t plant the seeds. Perhaps old Mr Rosini who lives in the little cottage over the back lane threw the seeds over the fence one day when he was cleaning out his budgie’s cage.  When we sit among the sunflowers we can hear him talking in Italian to his budgie, and Bluey talks back to him.
Sometimes we go with our Aunt to Mr Rosini's house, taking with us fresh warm bread that Grandma has just taken out of her big black oven.  He turns on his radio so we can listen to the “children’s hour” and he pulls off chunks of the soft bread for us and slathers it with jam.
My Aunt says Mr Rosini has lived there since the war. Perhaps the sunflowers are how he repays Grandma for her kindness.

This story is a piece of fiction...but my grandmother did have a long back yard where she grew vegetables, and the outhouse was under weeping trees way down the back (a scary place to visit in the dark!). And there was a man who lived in a little cottage along the laneway that ran along the back of the yard.  

Here is a pic of Gramdma's house taken in 1948. She lived in Corrigin in the Western Australian wheatbelt.



I hope you enjoyed my story today.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

16 comments:

  1. A lovely story, illustrated with wonderful photos of the sunflower!
    I am happy that you want to link to "Nature Thursday".
    Unfortunately the current link party is already closed.
    Next Wednesday from 7 p.m. you can then link this beautiful post.
    I'd be pleased.
    best regards
    Jutta

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    1. I am very happy that the link to "Nature Thursday" worked out today!
      I would be happy to see you again next time!
      best regards

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  2. Jill, what a lovely story and pictures too. Your Grandma's house looks to have a lovely garden. I hope you have a great week and stay safe and well.

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  3. What a lovely story and illustrations. A day brightener!

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  4. What a lovely sunny story for a grey day. Thanks for spiking my imagination today Jill :)

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  5. Lovely story and gorgeous photos! Have a wonderful week :)

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  6. What a beautiful idea and I love your sunflower photos! Stay safe this week my friend! Hugs!

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  7. Jill, I loved your story. My grandmother also had a very large garden with long rows! I love the idea of reading a book in the sunflower patch as they are my favorite flower. Thanks for sharing and have a great week! Sylvia D.

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  8. Luv the story and photos. Have a nice week
    I am at #12 on the linky

    Much🌻love

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  9. Jill - I was transported! Some of the scenes you describe brought back childhood memories of my Dad's garden. And I was impressed that the characters in the story would use that precious (bath) water in the garden! Thanks for linking up to Mosaic Monday, my friend!

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  10. Hi Jill :) That's a lovely story! You do write well. :) And your sunflower photos are brilliant. The only memory I have of my grandma was of her picking dandelions out of her yard. She always dressed to a T, very proper...imagine Queen Elizabeth...she always had a nice dress on, a hat, white gloves, pumps, and a purse around her elbow as she plucked up the dandelions, it was quite a sight to see, and a great memory!

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  11. Gorgeous sunflowers
    Dawn aka Spatulas On Parade

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  12. I want to grow a whole lot of sunflowers and sit beneath their glow and read my book. I like that Mr. Rossini's bird is called Bluey, which was the name of Mama's budgie. It's a sweet story, Jill. :-)

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  13. thank you all dear readers and friends. I really love having you come to my blog and treasure your comments. I am sorry I am unable to get back to you this week as internet is dodgy. Hopefully next week! take care all!

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  14. Aw, that's a lovely story! I like the idea of the flowers being payment for kindness :)

    Your link is a wonderful addition to 'My Corner of the World'!! Thanks for being here this week.

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  15. glad to read your story lines with beautiful photos...
    have a wonderful day

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I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my blog. Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I read and very much appreciate every comment and love hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return.