No story today. Was thinking about Thanksgivings past and present. November in America, anyway, is a time for remembering our blessings and coming home to the larger, extended family. The final harvests have been collected and stored and the quieter life of winter is fast approaching. Somehow, I got to thinking about farm life in America's youth. For some reason, I kept thinking of Ohio at the time it was settled. This scene is a typical farmstead, oh say, ten years after the Shawnee and other native American tribes have been pushed farther west beyond the Mississippi. Life is still pretty primitive and most buildings are the notched log type. Perhaps a few of the more wealthy residents might have a large brick farmhouse or a barn of rock and lumber, but most folks are a long way yet from having such fancy or comfortable buildings. Stumps have been cleared off the land for fields and pasture. The herds are slowly increasing from a couple of cows that survived the arduous journey over the Appalachian Mountains to get to the fertile Ohio valley. My forebears on my Mother's side were Quaker farmers. They were living on Long Island fifteen years after the Pilgrim's landed on Plymouth Rock. One of my colateral cousins, was Nathan Hale. During the Revolutionary War, one of my ancestors was a rebel, while the other, a Tory fearing for his life, disappeared into Canada. After America became independent, my forebears moved to western New York State, then to south central Ohio. Always a restless bunch, they later moved to eastern Iowa, settling around present-day Iowa City. There, they were involved the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves. A Great-Great Grandfather fought in the Battle of Shiloh. In the 1880's, they moved to north central Kansas. My Great-Grandfather and my Grandfather, along with a number of the latter's uncles and cousins, tried farming down in Vera Cruz, Mexico, but that proved an economic disaster and they returned to Kansas within a year. I guess my family has been very much a part of the history of America. I'm thankful for that. ****************** Credits: barn, cabin, fences, and hitching post: Transpond's Log Cabin KIt. granary: Made by me, using Transpond's Log Cabin Kit. oak trees in foreground: a Net freebie by Skippy, but retextured by me to look like pin oaks. yellow-leafed oak: one of Modalz's Old Wood trees with textures by Judith Ward. background forest: RDNA WildWood Vol 1 - Autumn Maples by Traveler. grain field: RDNA Fields - Volumetric Field Figures by Traveler. terrains: by me using Jonathan Allen's texture. cattle: models and textures by Debra Ross at Vista Internet. horses: P4 horses, using textures by MoonRose. As always, thanks for dropping by and looking. Constructive comments are also appreciated. Jeremy