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The Watermelon Farmer's Daughter
The Watermelon Farmer's Daughter
The Watermelon Farmer's Daughter
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The Watermelon Farmer's Daughter

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The idealistic innocent childhood, which started on the farm during WW11 then to the sea, will draw you back in time
It is safe for a child growing up with no parental restraints – Sarah learns self-reliance, discipline and independence, which have been the education to carry her through life
Sarah’s parents are experiencing their own freedom after the end of the war
She arrives relatively unscathed but unsure about her approaching marriage – there is no alternative for a woman in the late 1950’s. The virginity she did not know she had is lost to the man she will marry
The Female Eunuch and Cleo Magazines were her awakening and education in the 1970’s -
Come with Sarah on her journey of change, in a time like no other, from radio then black and white television to iCloud from horse and sulky to travelling the world with her ever present and constant companion ‘the watermelon’

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 1, 2013
ISBN9781301465811
The Watermelon Farmer's Daughter
Author

Mary Hutchison

I was born around the same time as Sarah the portagonist in my book. This could be any woman's life born in the 1940's forward to 1980's. 'This is our Life' Join me on www.watermelonfarmersdaughter.com blog and tell your story - Growing up in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Has it all turned out the way you imagined? Was the 'Madam Bovary syndrome' of ideal romantic love we saw in the movies and expectations realised? Did you find that you alone were the ruler of your universe and a partner was 'the icing on the cake' if you found the knife to spread 'the icing' smoothly. Who or what has been 'your constant companion'? Sarah's story- The idealistic innocent childhood, which started on the farm during WW11 then to the sea, will draw you back in time It is safe for a child growing up with no parental restraints – Sarah learns self-reliance, discipline and independence, which have been the education to carry her through life Sarah’s parents are experiencing their own freedom after the end of the war She arrives relatively unscathed but unsure about her approaching marriage – there is no alternative for a woman in the late 1950’s. The virginity she did not know she had is lost to the man she will marry The Female Eunuch and Cleo Magazines were her awakening and education in the 1970’s - Come with Sarah on her journey of change, in a time like no other, from radio then black and white television to iCloud from horse and sulky to travelling the world with her ever present and constant companion ‘the watermelon’

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    Book preview

    The Watermelon Farmer's Daughter - Mary Hutchison

    THE WATERMELON FARMER’S DAUGHTER

    Mary Hutchison

    .

    Smashwords Edition

    Copyright 2013 Mary Hutchison

    www.watermelonfarmersdaughter.com

    License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    ISBN: 978-0-646-59417-0

    Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

    Table of Contents

    Book One

    Chapter 1 - The Watermelon

    Chapter 2 - Watermelon Farmer

    Chapter 3 - Watermelon Farmers Wife

    Chapter 4 - Farmer and his Wife

    Chapter 5 - The Watermelon Farmers Daughter

    Book Two

    Chapter 6 - Disaster in the Watermelon Patch

    Chapter 7 - Memories in Bran Stokers Castle

    Chapter 8 - On the road for the Very First Time

    Book Three

    Chapter 9 - Marriage in the sixties

    Chapter 10 - Awakening

    Chapter 11 - Catalyst

    Book Four

    Chapter 12 - The Travelling Watermelon

    Epilogue

    ~

    This is a fictional story. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. The author’s use of any name and actual place is incidental to the purposes of the story and it not intended to change the fictional character of the work.

    ~

    Life wasn't meant to be easy, my child, but take courage, it can be delightful.

    George Bernard Shaw

    .

    Book One

    Chapter 1

    The Watermelon

    My mouth salivates with the thought, the anticipated delight, on a hot summer day, of a dark pink, crisp, cool, sweet slice of watermelon.

    A few weeks after the seedlings are planted the weakest must be culled so that the strongest can bear the largest fruit. Slugs and seedling chomping critters love the tender young shoots and must be exterminated for the plant to thrive.

    A watermelon vine is a very hungry, greedy beast of a plant. It needs space. It rambles and wanders. It curls, has snake like tendrils which entwine and smother everything around it. You can remind it to stay in the area by gently moving the tips of the vines, so they grow in the right direction. The large leaves will protect the tiny fruit from the fierce sun when they are forming and provide shade for the mature fruit.

    Male and female watermelon flowers grow on the same vine; they resemble a newly married couple building a nest. Like Adam, the male flowers are first on the scene; they pale to insignificance when Eve's large bright yellow female flowers appear in their glorious splendor.

    This is the time for busy bees to hover over from the small male flower extracting the pollen before burrowing into the enticing succulent green and yellow centre of the brilliant large yellow female flower, fertilizing the inner core with the precious stolen pollen.

    The little pale green pea shaped fruit at the base of the female flower will shrivel up and die if the flower has not been pollinated. When the bees are finished and have been successful the little fruit grows at an alarming rate into the large, mouth watering, sweet and juicy, pink and red fleshed melon.

    Telling when a watermelon is ripe is an art. The first sign to look for is the curly tendril at the stem. Once it is dry, as in, totally dry not just starting to dry off, once it is totally dry, it may be ready. The most popular way to tell if it is ripe is the sound. Knock them with your knuckles, as you would knock on a door, listen for a dull, hollow sound. The unripe melons have a higher pitched sound. Keep thumping lots of them and comparing until you can tell the difference. Eventually you'll have to take a chance on one....

    I've been watching my father from my bedroom window, he's picked the watermelon, its dawn, just before the sun is up, and he puts the melon under the tank stand. My father saved the seeds from his last crop of watermelons before the war started. Everyone will have a feast of melon later this morning.

    This is the first time for me, I'm four years old. I feel so happy sitting near the tank stand with my first slice of melon. The grass is making my legs itch but I don't care the first bite is unbelievable, so sweet and crunchy. I can't stop laughing. This is the best.

    Sitting on the grass with knees bent, legs wide apart, elbows resting on the knees I hold the thick half circle slice of watermelon between both hands. The juice from the succulent melon runs down my chin and inside of each arm from wrist to elbow then dribbles down from knee to ankle dripping onto the ground. The seeds are either swallowed, not a good idea, my mother told me a watermelon will grown in my stomach if I do this or spat onto the grass, which I do, or if you are a proficient spitter, as a missile at any person in range.

    After the war ended my father returned to his passion of growing watermelons.

    Chapter 2

    My Father - The Watermelon Farmer

    The young, fearless and daring watermelon farmer, my father, was barn storming on a flight with Charles Kingsford Smith. The only flight in his life took off from the sheep paddock on the farm and flew over his watermelon patch. It was the first time anyone had seen a plane. He describes how his stomach shifted place and his head spun when he saw the farm upside down when the plane did a spin.

    He's a handsome, adventurous man whose family was strict Presbyterian of Scottish and German heritage.

    It's a hard life working the land, up with the sun and working till

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