When we think of the country life, we tend to visualize a quieter one with plenty of room for family to grow and thrive. Rather than the hustle and bustle of crowded urban streets with people and traffic dashing under a smoggy haze, where horns honk and sirens blare, out on the farm the air is clear, the stillness unsettled only by the gentle mooing of cattle, the distant drone of a tractor, or the passing of a car or two, now and then.
But remembering back to the many summers I enjoyed vacationing at my cousins, I’d have to say that while the country might be quiet it was rarely still. On from the early rising of my aunt, bustling in the kitchen, and my uncle treading out at pre-dawn to milk the cows, there was always plenty of activity. It was only night, with no social life nearby, when the day quieted and the only entertainment needed was the beauty of a clear starry night.
While the grown-ups filled daylight hours with hard work, my cousin and I spent our time wandering country lanes and fields in search of that day’s new adventures. With makeshift poles we fished the streams; with youthful agility we climbed the orchard’s trees in search of ripe fruit. The chicken coop, empty stalls and hay mow were sources of inspiration for our imaginations.
Those vacations at the farm were the halcyon weeks of my childhood summers, full of adventure and activity, exploration and imagination. Thus, when looking for images to convey that quiet country life only one word came to mind — animated. Here then is some terrific farming-related clipart from AnimationFactory
