'BACK PORCH SITTIN'

          For a lot of us what live out in the country, one of life’s simple pleasures is sittin’ out on a porch in either a swing or a rockin’ chair and enjoyin’ life at a bit slower pace. Whether it’s visitin’ with family or friends or simply just sittin’ in the shade and enjoyin’ a good book, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more relaxin’ place to while away an afternoon.

On the Jennings Farm, Momma and Daddy’s back porch is the place to hang out. Twelve foot by twenty foot, screened-in; a picnic table at one end, porch swing on the other, and wooden rockin’ chairs in between. It’s where we catch up with one another; tell what’s happenin’ in our lives and what’s goin’ on with the kids, and pass along the latest gossip from down at the post office or farm supply.

The swing… my brother built. It was a gift many, many Christmases ago. A couple of old throw pillows at one end, it’s where my Daddy takes his afternoon naps. Many’s the time I’ve seen him sit there and whistle a call to draw in Bobwhite Quail, just as his Daddy used to. How funny to watch two, and sometimes three, quail scurryin’ around the backyard, dodgin’ the cat and tryin’ their darnedest to find that girl quail that keeps a callin’ to ‘em.

The picnic table is another past Christmas gift. It’s where simple meals of fried squash, peas, sliced t’maters, green onions, and cornbread are eaten on pleasant summer evenings, and where the little kids, my nieces and nephews, spend hours playin’ dominoes with their Nana.

From the porch, we can see the cows out in the pasture, their calves stretched out in the grass, soakin’ up the warm sunshine; laugh at poor Gypsy as she tries to keep up with that new colt of hers as it races down to the pond and back, then up to the road, then back down to the barn; and then, just before dark, you can watch the chickens, one at a time, fly up into the old cedar tree to roost.

          It’s on the back porch that we sit and snap and string the green beans and shell the purple hull peas that are brought in from the garden; all the while marvelin’ at the aerobatics of brilliantly hued hummin’birds, as they zip around the feeder hangin’ from the eave.

          We sip sweet tea, solve the world’s problems, and generally just enjoy spendin’ time with one another. We laugh and talk; Daddy catches me up on what’s goin’ on with this uncle or that aunt. We talk about Brother Charlie’s sermon from last Sunday, how much calves are bringin’ at the sale barn, this week, and I fill Momma in on my datin’ life. LOL

          It’s the perfect place for a quick afternoon nap; it’s where the whole family congregates after Sunday dinner; and it’s a great place to sit late of an evenin’ and watch the kids runnin’ around, catchin’ lightnin’ bugs out in the yard.

Yep… I do believe a person’d be hard-pressed to find a more relaxin’ way to while away an afternoon than back porch sittin’.