When dreams and children combine

Not artistic but old, this combine was the inspiration for many years of adventures for my brothers, cousins and I. Growing up in the hot, dry dusty summers it became everything from Cinderella's coach, to a pirate ship to the rocket to the Moon. In more than one spring we found that our Easter Baskets were hidden in here. We hid during games of hide and seek or when Grandma Grace wanted to assign chores, safe in here.

Life was good when the sun was baking down on this rusty hunk of junk. I'm not sure how active play could be when just sitting on the edge of this machine, clucking your tongue at a magnificent team of stagecoach ponies, but the imagination became more active by the moment, and at times the highest point became a springboard for long jumping competitions where we learned that we could, almost fly. So when the stagecoach was suddenly held up by bandana smothered bandits, the play turned very active, leaping from the coach, cracking whips and tackling the bad guys and earning golden rewards was all part of a day to day life, and easily managed in time to be called in for dinner.