Illustration Friday: Farm

 

This is a watercolor I did a few months ago from a old black & white photograph my mother took back in 1956 of the barn on the first farm we lived on located in Gabbettville, Georgia. Gabbettville is a little farming community in SW Georgia on the Chattahoochee river about 70 miles SW of Atlanta. Population approximately 34 people, 2000 cows,500 hogs and a million chickens.This was a rental farm that we lived on for about a year while my dad looked for a farm to buy. He finally found our permenant farm in 1957. My memories of life on this farm are something I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. We were mainly chicken farmers with most of our income coming from the sale of broiler chickens but we also raised a couple 100 head of cattle, four to six hogs and anywhere from 6 to 8 horses. We also grew about 5 acres of corn for feed for the animals and had a kitchen garden that supplied all of our food. Most people say they wouldn't want to live their childhood again if given the chance but I'd do it in a heart beat. I loved every minute of it and would not hesitate to go back.
Neil