May 23, 2014

Chin up...


...buttercup!


"Chin Up Buttercup"
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania


"The buttercups, bright and bold,
held up their chalices of gold
to catch the sunshine and the dew."

-Julia C.R.  Dorr




Buttercups hadn't been in the forefront of my mind since probably...grade school?!?  We use to go out into the field at recess, pluck the buttercups, and hold them under each others' chin.  If the reflection on the chin was yellow, it meant they liked butter.  Quite honestly, I never gave it much credence because my chin always turned yellow, and we NEVER had butter in our refrigerator.  I had no idea what it even tasted like.  We were totally a 1960's household of Tang, Shake 'n Bake, Jiffy Popcorn,  and powdered milk to stretch out the real stuff. I give total credit for the yellow chin to Chiffon margarine.  Like the slogan said "If you think it's butter, but it's not...it's Chiffon".  Stupid buttercups!





"Blanket of Gold"
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania


WHY we needed to know this bit of vital information...day after spring day...is a bit baffling.  





Probably for the same reason we all fervently waved our hands to be the "mimeograph" volunteer when the teacher asked.  So that we could inhale that lovely blue ink aroma on the roller and the papers.  Apparently buttercups AND the mimeograph machine both got us a bit giddy, laughing, AND out of the classroom for a bit.  

Chin up buttercup!



Here's where I "link up" today.

Please join me on Sundays for Song-ography.
This week's song title is Five for Fighting's "100 Years".

22 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures! You certainly took me on a trip through memory lane with the blue mimeographed sheets and silly recesses.

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  2. I would love a field like this to photograph! Oh those mimeographs! We called them dittos at my school, but that slightly wet stack of pages to sniff was heavenly! It's one of those scents that transports you like a fresh box of crayons.

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  3. Delightful...love your picks of the buttercups and your stories of past times!!

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  4. This is great! Beautiful photos - I want to head to Valley Forge when I'm home - but my dad isn't walking too well these days, and I always hate leaving him for a big chunk of time when I'm home. Sigh. My time in those fields will come. I also have this buttercup memory - as you know...I looked them up to see what was said about where they grow, but didn't really find anything too specific. It's been years since I've thought about or seen them - but this sure is a throwback to childhood!!

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  5. Lovely buttercup shots my garden is full of them as it's an old orchard so it's full of daisies and other wildflowers....

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  6. I haven't seen a buttercup in ages. Your photos are lovely. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Ohmygosh..."powdered milk to stretch out the real stuff"...I thought we were the only ones! Tang, Shake 'n Bake, and margarine, too (store brand for us)....ah, the good ol' days. I love your photos of that old log cabin in the field of buttercups. I have tried many times to photograph buttercups but it's always disappointing. Their petals are so shiny that the reflected light totally blows out the highlights and they look so pale compared to my memory of their beautiful, rich yellow in real life. Yours are beautiful.

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  8. We lived pretty identical childhoods! That's all I think of with buttercups too! Great photos!

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  9. I always love your photos. Thanks!

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  10. Great memories and you captured the buttercups beautifully. I am jealous, I have been tempted to stop and photograph a field of them but have never made the time. Glad you did.

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  11. I have forgot them until your post -- totally slipped my thoughts - and I love all flowers...wink!
    Great images --my favorite is number 2 today..
    Hugs

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  12. Such great memories!! I remember, in 1st grade, I looked at the "popular" girls who claimed I liked butter and went "there is NO way a flower can tell you what I like!" Needless to say, I was thrown lower down the popularity ladder for that one!

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  13. We did the chin thing with dandelions, the buttercups would have made more sense. And I loved the smell of mimeo paper, remember when teachers ( I had nuns) would let you use the paper cutter? They wouldn't do that now!
    Such beautiful pictures of the fields and I like how you back off from the close ups to include the cabin in the scene.

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  14. Oh Kathy! Thank you for coming to my site and cheering me on. I have been so out of it this week, (dang chemo) Today I am well, even paced and eager to catch up with my faves (you). I love that saying: Buck up butter cup. So funny. It is like the pansy. It is such a hardy flower; blooms in snow if it has to, returns each year if it is not disturbed and yet the person deemed a 'pansy' is not a strong person but rather a wimp. hmmmmmm? love to you my friend! ♥, Renae

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  15. Never heard of either chin up buttercups or mimeograph - oh well, but I love your photos of fields of buttercup - so dreamy.

    p.s. coincidence - just last weekend on our bikeride I had to take a few photos of buttercups myself - LOL - haven't posted them yet though ;)

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  16. Oh yes loved the smell of mimeograph ink, and we were a tang household as well, and my dad always drank Sanka.

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  17. Gorgeous pictures! But please what is " chiffon" ( I thought it is some kind of fabric?) and a " mimeograph"?

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  18. I forgot about theses simplistic flowers until just now, seeing them in your photos. Love the serenity of them.

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  19. That log cabin in the field of buttercups is such a calm and beautiful scene. We didn't have buttercups where I grew up, so I never had a chance to try out that test.

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  20. Gorgeous photos (as always)! The top one is my favorite. So pretty!

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  21. Growing up there were buttercups along the West side of our home. We played this game often. Thanks for the memories. Can't remember if mine turned yellow or not, but boy do I ever love butter! lol! Love those sweet buttercups also. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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