Our inner child and imaginary worlds...



Into the forest...


I wonder how many of you, as a child, liked to play in your own imaginary world. How many of you let curiosity get the better of you and set off to discover something new? This thought came back to me at 2:30am last night, as I woke from yet another jet lag stupor. It was clear that my mind was not going to rest until I wrote the following..so I did.



A story...
When I was seven years old, we lived in a home with a deep forest behind us- trees and stone walls stretched to eternity in my seven year old eyes. I had a merry band of travellers in my brothers and sisters and the local neighbourhood kids. We liked adventures...the forest was our playground. After school and on the weekends we would set down a path at the back of our property, starting with the stone wall at one end and meander along it’s path. There was a creek that quietly gurgled alongside it and it was there that we pretended to carry out the day to day routines of American pioneers long before us. But not before we reached our secret place under the biggest pine tree in the forest…with graceful sweeps of thick pine boughs that lovingly draped to the floor below, sheltering us from the outside world. It was heaven.. an earthy pine scented green heaven.



and into an earthy pine scented green heaven where bloodroot grows..

We took frequent trips to this tree, it was ‘our place’- we never told our parents...for of course, at that age we felt they just wouldn’t understand. It was our secret world. We kept ourselves busy-pretending we lived there, each assuming tasks, foraging for curiosities-anything that could help us create the perfect shelter. It was exciting, it was our own and I have never forgotten it...ever.



where we foraged for curiosities.

 That was nearly fifty years ago and it came back to me like it was yesterday..just last week as I walked around our property at Tahilla Farm. I was with a landscape architect, a forester and my sister-in-law, exploring the land, looking for opportunities to enhance a meadow and expand our view to a mountain on the east side of our property.




Today, a view to the east side of our property...

We walked along, creating a path as we went, talking about the beauty of the trees and the animals that lived within. As we walked... I found my steps quickening… for I had spotted it…a hidden stone wall that extended from one end of our property to another. Could it be? As we walked, the pine and hemlock trees thickened, pine needles forming a thick carpet below our feet. I looked for signs of water..I looked for the sweeping mass of pine boughs cascading from the top of the enormous trees around us. I could feel my imaginary world opening it’s door.



where a hidden creek quietly gurgles and meanders...

We stopped in silence and noticed that we were standing in what once was a meadow; long overgrown…it was the perfect spot. We talked about the pros and cons of our plan, I listened intently, all the while gazing around me…making a mental note of which direction I would head on my next adventure into the woods..to pick up the trail and explore the imaginary world that still exists within me…fifty years on. You can be sure..that when I do, you will be the first to know.

So I ask you..were you a child with an imaginary world? Were you encouraged through books, stories or did you set sail under your own steam? I know many of you will have smiled from the start of this post..I am certain we lived parallel lives in our childhood.  You are my merry band of what my children used to call my 'imaginary blogging friends'… until they discovered that blogging took my imaginary world and turned it into a reality with Tahilla Farm. They are now believers.


Do you still believe? 
Do you ever let your inner child come out to play? 
For surely, we are never too old...


never say never...
via



To help you along your way, you can start where I started last week, with a song...




Wishing you a wonderful weekend...imaginary or not!

Jeanne xx

Comments

  1. Hello Jeanne

    I am enjoying reading about Tahilla Farm and the adventures that are in store for you. Your imaginary home in the tree by the river is precious. I had a similar hideout in Ireland as a child and we also had a martello tower on our property which was magical too.

    This inner child plays so much she forgets to return to her crib.

    To a great weekend

    Helen xx

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  2. I love that thought Helen..brilliant! :)

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  3. Jeanne, this is beautiful. Of course, we all had our imaginary worlds and sometimes I think I still do. Finding images on Pinterest or Tumblr, seeing images I may never ever see, I still enjoy them immensely. A beautiful post about a beautiful property.
    xx's

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    1. Thank you Marsha...I think your group posts extend this idea beautifully. :)

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  4. Jeanne, I believe that our imagination is the blueprint for our future lives...
    Tahilla Farm is wonderful and you will be able to let that imagination f yours run wild in so many fabulous ways... xv

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  5. Did I have an imaginary world?
    What do you think?
    Love this, Jeanne!
    xoxo

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    1. Pamela...I knew it was only a matter of time...xx

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  6. Oh yes...I had an imaginary world and many hide outs and forts in the apple orchards and woods. Thinking about that fills me with comfort and happiness. I am enjoying each post about Tahilla Farm and am thrilled for you and your family to be making this special place your home.

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    1. Thank you Laura...I think it will be a promising adventure. I love your early imaginary world of forts, apple orchards and woods...lovely combination. xx

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  7. Jeanne, I am so happy that you woke at 2:30 to share your beautiful story of your imaginary world! It sounds as if it was a magical place, and how wonderful that at your dream farm you managed to find the "door" to a new and exciting place to while away the hours.

    I have had many imaginary worlds in my life. Along with my band of merry siblings from the mountains of Alaska, to the shores of Lake Michigan and parts in between we created many a happy world. Thanks for the memories Jeanne.

    Take care of yourself and relax with a cup of tea, a good book and your chaise lounge.

    xx Elizabeth

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    1. Will do Elizabeth, thank you...and what a childhood..starting with the mountains of Alaska..more please! xx

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  8. such memories! I had such wonderful memories of a childhood spend roaming the bayou's in Pensacola, Florida where I grew up (on the water.) xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

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    1. Thank you Peggy for sharing your childhood location ...I can not begin to imagine the bayou or what one would even look like. Very intriguing... xx

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  9. Of course...Mine was behind the huge evergreens in my childhoos home!

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    1. Cindy..you you imagine a life without evergreens? Heaven forbid! xx

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  10. Yes, you knew very well what our responses would be. My goodness Jeanne, sometimes I think that we are related somehow and just don't know it!

    Before I could read, my Mom would just open the kitchen door and say, "out you go!" and so I would, playing in the woods until lunch and then back again until dinner. I was alone so can you imagine the stories I had to create to keep myself occupied? That imagination is still so much a part of my daily life. The tangents I go off on in flights of fancy. Once I learned and loved to read, my Mom would have to hunt me down in my hiding place to pry the books out of my hands on sunny days. Again, "out you go!" and on I go...

    Thank you for this,
    xo,
    H

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    1. Heather...you have the makings of a post right there... "Out You Go!".. If you do, can you start with the books your were reading..and perhaps that hiding place...what do you remember? I think this is a must...pretty please! :) xx

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    2. Oooh! Really? I just might! With a link back to you of course, dear Jeanne. Bisous!!!

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  11. I lived in an imaginary world almost all the time when I was a child. There was this grove of trees, in a valley running under our house, and I would go there, with my cousins, and we would make up all sorts of stories. I loved that place. Maybe I need to go pay it a little visit.

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    1. Loree..I think a revisit is a great idea...bring a notebook and a camera. Oh...this is fun! xx

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  12. Hi Jeanne...what a beautiful post! I spent most of my childhood hours with my nose in a book and living in imaginary worlds...all the better if I could have my book with me outside and find a quiet spot in the garden or nearby woods. Your post took me back to my childhood!

    How lovely to have Tahilla Farm to relive those days and offer them to future generations!

    xoxo

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    1. So glad you travelled back Sandy, it was lovely to imagine your quiet spot in the garden. It is interesting to think how many of the things we did in our childhood remain with us today. Must be that inner child at work.. :)

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  13. We called it pretend.
    I enjoyed playing in the forest with real other children when I was child but all pretend about being other beings.Being part of the folklores.
    We made a tree house and made traps to catch birds.
    Now and then I still go to one imaginary world after another.
    It keeps me curious.

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    1. Curious is a good thing Edgar..it is obvious from your blog that you are blessed with curiosity. I enjoyed your post today...

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  14. Jeanne,
    We had a giant weeping willow in my grandmother's back yard that was our special hiding spot - we had ladybugs for pets - and made up all kinds of adventures!
    There is a wonderful children's book called Roxaboxen that I think you would really enjoy - easy to get at the library when you are next in the US.
    Cheers!
    Jacqueline

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    1. Weeping willows and ladybugs..I love the sound of that Jacqueline. I just checked out Roxaboxen...you are right, it looks like one that I would enjoy. I still enjoy hanging out in the children's section of bookstores..some things are hard to let go of. Thank you!

      http://www.amazon.com/Roxaboxen-Alice-McLerran/dp/0060526335

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  15. it feels so good to know another cut from the same cloth!!
    yes....
    i wandered along side my own stream in my own forest.
    these are rich, rich memories.
    ...and i cherish them.

    thank you for bringing them back to me this am.

    oxo

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    1. Your very welcome Renee...Happy Mother's Day!
      xx

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  16. Jeanne you can't imagine how many of my own memories came flooding back!
    Our yard seemed huge with all kinds of climbing trees, weeping willows, and the bee path along the corner property!
    We had REAL fun!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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    1. Karen...so so happy to have you travel to your childhood through this post! :)

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  17. From Maude...via email

    Loved this post Jeanne. I was dreaming from the beginning. I was definitely a child of nature and was much more comfortable out there than inside. All sorts of imaginary creatures were with me including Custer the Dragon and my imaginary monkey, Jocko. I think it's why I still like the feel of dirt/mud in my hands reminding me of the innocence of childhood. All those scents and sounds are such a comfort. Thank you for sharing yours.

    Hope all is well there. So sorry I didn't get to see you this last trip. I hope next time!

    xoxo Maude

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    1. A lovely thought Maude..feeling the dirt/mud in your hands, reminding you of the innocence of childhood. It is so true, isn't it. Makes me want to go out and create a mud patty...I will hold that thought until I am back in New Hampshire. :) xx

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  18. Hi Jeanne, what comes to my mind is from the movie "Under The Tuscan Sun" where one of the girlfriends advised "never loose your childlike enthusiasm." Then I also remember what Jesus advised in the Bible: "always pray like a child." Both so true and we should always remember.

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    1. Lovely Pamela...now I must see the movie again..you just planned my evening, thank you! :)

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Can I just say....that I so enjoy what YOU have to say. If you would like to write to me directly, I would love to hear from you... jeannecollageoflife@gmail.com

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