BACKTRACKING #4: Picking Wild Blackberries (04.29.09)

PICKING WILD BLACKBERRIES

OUT ON FROGMORE ON HUNTING CLUB LAND

NATALIE: WHAT'S WILD BLACKBERRIES?

OH! Okay I see now!

[OFF SUBJECT: Notice Natalie's Minnie Mouse Earrings. These were Cari's when she was younger. She recently cleaned out her room getting rid of many things from her "little girl" days such as these ear rings. Much of Cari's trash is a new treasure to Natalie.]


Watch for the thorns/briars. Actually, think Poppa is explaining to Natalie that we pick the BLACK berries not the red ones.

Poppa showing Natalie where some more berries are.

The briars reminded me of this Disney Story, "Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby", a little story book that my kids had or this story "The Laughin' Place and the Wonderful Tar Baby" that is included in a collection Disney Classics book that we have. The note on the story reads, "Adapted from Walt Disney's Motion Picture, Song of the South, based on Tales of Uncle Remus by Joel Candler Harris. Click here to read a short little version that I found online about the Tar Baby. It's a cute little story that rabbit is tricked and caught by his enemy Brer Fox and Brer Bear and how Brer Rabbit used his wits to trick them which in the end provided an opportunity for escape. Natalie loves for me to read this story. I, on the otherhand, do not care to read it that much. It is told in this southern/country/redneck style using words that are not in the english dictionary--words that I do not know how to pronounce. For example: "Nice wedder diz mawnin"." Interpretation: "Nice weather this morning." That I can read...probably in my own southern style, but try reading someone elses! So I don't know if Natalie just likes the story or likes me struggling to read it! LOL

Trying to keep her balance in the "briar patch"...

She thinks she got a briar/thorn somthing in her hand...

She's sure she does now...and using a little dramatic expression to show her pain and anxiety.

She got over it...actually I think I got it out.

Show Mimi you blackberry...

Poppa has a handful for Natalie.

I love this expression!

Posing...I think I can see her hands on her hip.

The End!

This is one of those few times that I didn't overshoot because my battery died. I put the camera up and helped Natalie and Poppa pick berries. I am glad we shared this experience with Natalie, but I don't think we'll be making an annual event of it. She wasn't to impressed with the taste of Wild Blackberries.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

GINNING COTTON....

NATALIE'S FIRST TRIP TO THE COTTON GIN DURING GINNING SEASON...

and another adventure in "Natalie's World"

Okay, this probably wasn't her first trip to the gin during ginning season, but it will probaby her first memory of it...you know the first time she should be old enough to remember. My kids used to have to go to the gin during ginning season just to get to see their dad...he worked much longer harder days during the fall back then...he practically lived there. Now it is only bad when they are having problems...well, they are having many problems this year, but it isn't gin-related problems. Randy has been ginning cotton now for over 20 years actually this is his 24th season.

Natalie thought this was very interesting, but she didn't like the loud sound of the gin.



















[This was the last thing Natalie and I did before I took her home...that is before we went to town to run errands and then we hit the road. She fell sound asleep by the time we got to Natchez and slept all the way to St. Francisville.]
I will try to come back later and give a little more information about the process of ginning at least to the extent of the images. One day I will do a series of cotton ginning from the beginning until the end. But for now this will have to do.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

09-12-07

This image is my favorite close up for the day. She really, really didn't want to take the time to look at me. She is just too, too busy for that!

If I am going to document Natalie's World...I need to capture the bad as well as the good. While I was here on the computer and she was watching TV, this is what I happend. I asked her what was she doing. She answered honestly, "I give Precious my milk." After I took this, I told her that I hoped that I wasn't confusing her by taking the photo because I do not want her to do that any more...what a mess!
I grabbed the camera again when I realized she had found this old toothbrush in Cari's bathroom (that's what we call it now that Cameron moved out). I thought it was so cute and she did too (I think) before she realized it was hot! She was so proud of herself for putting the toothpaste on it by herself, but this time it wasn't "her" toothpaste. At this point, I realized she was also asking for milk to get rid of the hot taste of the toothpaste.


Some fun with Sidewalk Chalk. It is fun and messy, but at least it washes clean easily. I would draw simple things (my drawing is very elementary...I mean pre-school like). She would identify the items...flowers, heart (valentine), trees, banana, apple, house, swing, slide, triangles, cirles, squares, etc. I ran out of things to draw so I drew more flowers.

This is her running to pet the cat. Check out all the chauk on her! Acutally, then she had to kiss the cat (on her back). She has too kiss everything. It is so cute...except when she started kissing strangers at McDonald's last Saturday night when we went there to play. I guess she is so used to us telling her to love and kiss everyone that she things we literally mean everyone!
Natalie running back to the concrete slab after kissing the cat. Notice the cat looking back at the camera (funny, uh?).
The concrete slab that we used to draw on is a slab that we had poured after Randy had some extra concrete leftover from a job at the gin. It was just a thin layer at the basketball goal to give the kids a little mini court to play basket ball. You can tell no one has had much interest in basket ball in a while. It has cracks and weeds trying to grow through. And of course, many leaves and sticks had accumulated since we last played with chalk out there (early summer). So I brought the broom out there to sweep off a nice section for us to play. And of course, she would rather play with the broom. She does think she is sweeping it clean!
More sweeping...doesn't she look so girl-like in her stance here. She has a daintiness about herself. That reminds me of Cari when she was a little girl. She was always so graceful. Isn't it funny how it doesn't have to be taught to some girls!
Now she is playing monsters with the broom. She has this distintive monster growl that she uses in her voice when talks monster talk.

This is a sweet angle of her. Doesn't she such a pretty sweet face and check out those beautiful eyes lashes.
She really just didn't want to look at me, but I did finally get this cheesy look (the same image at the top of this group of images).
This is Natalie's favorite way to watch TV. We have a plasma TV on the wall and she has loved this chair since she was old enough to climb up and down furniture. I think it is a little lower than the coach & loveseat. Lately this is how she relaxes to watch TV, but she used to sit in the center of the chair with her feet streched out in it...actually the way your suppose to sit in chaise chair like this. From my computer, I couldn't see her. Sometimes I would wander where she was and there she would be...sittting there in the middle of the chair (the back of the chair faces my work area) watching TV.

She may watch too much TV, but I contribute some of it to her being so advanced in some many areas. Since she was a little bitty baby, she and I danced to the theme songs to many of her programs. She can sing all of the Barney I love you song. In the first verse, I hold her and we hug and kiss at the part that says a hug and kiss. The 2nd verse about friends and they show childern and Barney holding hands and swaying together...so that's how she wants to do that verse now. We still hug and kiss too. During that verse, they also show clips of friends and such...in one of the scenes they show a little daushand. She always says that's Rudy (the dog that lives at her other house--they got him this past spring so he is still a puppy). But I don't correct her. I agree it's Rudy!

That's it for this date. I have more a few images to post from Friday night when we went to eat at the Duck's Nest. It was her daddy's first trip home since he moved to Baton Rouge. Natalie and Brittany had seen him two weeks ago when they got engaged, but it had been almost 4 weeks since I had seen my boy (the longest time we had gone without seeing our child). So were glad to see him. We wanted to have a relaxed evening visiting. So we chose the Duck's Next over our favorite place (LaFiesta) because it would be quieter. The other place is so busy these days that it is so loud in there thus not as enjoyable as its used to be and much harder carry on conversation and visit. I was so mad at myself when were getting ready to leave and I realized that I had even got the camera out. I told Randy to remind me! But we were busy visiting and keeping Natalie content! I did get a few images of Natalie and some of all 4 of them outside as we were leaving! Not what I had in mind, but it was better than nothing. Be looking for those soon. ---Natalie's MiMi

Natalie's Adventures of the Day: 09.11.07

Natalie's "cheesy" espression for the day! I get one everytime I ask her to look at me when she knows that I have my camera.
I tried to capture images of Natalie dancing. We danced to her music this morning. She is wearing her new little Strawberry Shortcake outfit that I found at Wal-mart the day before. A while back Brittany told me about how much she loves Strawberry Shortcake. She loved watching one of Emma's videos. After I realized this, I noticed that she called the strawberries in her picture books "Strawberry Shortcake". So I could definitely tell that she was fond of Strawberry Shortcake. So I started looking for Strawberry Shortcake items. So I found this outfit in the early fall line at Wal-mart---it's a little on the cheap side, but I knew she would love it. And of course, she did. Before I even had a chance to show it to her, she found it hanging in my room. Since it was inexpensive, we didn't save it...she wore it!
This one she is cheezing and showing off her Strawberry Shortcake.
My favorite one of the day. I love close-ups that capture her beautiful eyes!
This she is doing her little shoulder dance. She does it in her car seat and high chair too. It's a good dance for you when one is tied down! And nobody does it any cuter than Natalie.
"OH, SO PRETTY"
at least that's what Natalie said the first time she did this earlier today!
She did this earlier today too. After I cleaned it up, I realized that I should have photographed it. Oh well...I got another chance all in the same day.
Notice the mascara on her shoulder. I thought she had ruined her new play outfit, but after I soaked it and it came clean. I was so glad because I know Natalie will enjoy wearing Strawberry Shortcake again.
The last laugh of the day. I thought she was going to tell us about wearing this on her boobies...that's what she usually says. But I guess since this one was so cute and pink, she talked about going swimming. She thought it was swimsuit. So I grabbed the camera!
She keeps you on your toes and keeps us laughing! ---Natalie's MiMi