My backyard always seemed larger in my mind. We had a swing set that would come out of the ground when you swung to high and a clothes line that could be basically anything we wanted it to be. Picnic benches that could be used as hurdles or horses and a trampoline that was used for numerous bum wars. We had a gate into our neighbors back yard, which made water fights and snow ball fights even more elaborate. And during the summer there was nothing better than digging up carrots and eating them with a bit of dirt on them.
We used to have a bunny named Duke. He once chewed his way out of his hutch and was discovered in the flower bed. I was to afraid to pick him up so my mom had to come and get him. After a few years he went a bit crazy and would run at your hand when you changed his water and food. I never liked that very much.
In the summer, we would set up a pool. The kind that has the plastic sides and is about 8 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. This would be our entertainment for most afternoons. I would pretend I was a whale, and Erica would be my trainer. She would feed me 5 cent candies after I 'performed' certain tricks. Sometimes we would stick close to the edge and propel ourselves around and around on our bellies, creating a whirlpool that would then spin us around without us having to do anything. We once put a sprinkler in the middle of our pool, which then became a backyard fountain that we could wade in. We would use goggles and pretend we were deep sea divers looking for treasure, or that one of us was a crocodile/shark/electric eel and the other was a person who was desperately trying to escape its wrath.
We had a wagon that was almost broken, and we would pull each other around and around, to different 'stations' in our backyard, each location providing a different service for the wagon rider.
Our skipping ropes would be used for dog leashes, horse reins, racing lines, ropes to tie up the bad guys and lassos to catch the saw horses.
Some days our dolls would join us for an afternoon picnic and mom would have to remind us to keep some toys inside.
My backyard was safe. It was predictable. It was everything that I needed in order to play and pretend.
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Great post Hill! We sure did have an amazing childhood. I had to laugh at the backyard pool description - so funny, and SO true!
I love you lots. Can't wait to see you!