Payne Hollow Primer

 This is a writing for young children-an introduction to Payne Hollow.  Each text is for one page and one illustration.  Something I plan to do.  I plan a combination of calligraphy, painting, sewing, and use of a vintage printing set.  I also like the idea of an altered book; modern illumination.

·         Magic is a word sometimes used to describe a feeling we have when we understand                 
          something special.

·         The story of Harlan and Anna Hubbard is special.  They chose to live in a secluded 
           river hollow.

·         A river is ever changing and always interesting.

·         Walking the steep trail down into Payne Hollow was like finding a secret garden.

·         Close to the river, they built a cottage of stone and wood.  It was peaceful, so the   
          birds stayed too.

·         Without electricity, the house was always kept neat and orderly.

·         Harlan enjoyed hard work. He collected driftwood and managed the woods where                     
          trees harvested allowed others to grow strong.

·         They made wood fires every day for cooking and keeping clean and warm.

·         The garden was the center of their living-a green growing place full of butterflies and 
           bees.

·         A large part of the garden was preserved.

·         They delighted in the goat herd and beloved dogs.

·         Anna was a careful homemaker.  She prepared tasty meals with whatever became 
          available, including wild foods.

·         She enjoyed reading to children and writing letters to loved ones.  To her, moonlight 
          on the river was a gift.

·         Who could be bored?  Best of all was the time left for playing music or reading 
          together.

·         While one person read, the other did handwork like knitting or shelling nuts.

·         Harlan painted pictures or made woodcut prints of the river and hills.

·         He made things in the workshop, like the handy wheelbarrow he used so often.

·         There, with a hand turned mill, he ground grains into flour for their daily bread.

·         Plastic milk bottles scavenged from the river became candled lanterns.

·         They never stopped learning, and made use of what was at hand.

·         The Hubbards treasured their family and friends.

·         They crafted a rich life they made for themselves.

·         He wrote books about the things they did.

·         Then people tried to find them, coming in their boats to search behind the willows.

·         Payne Hollow became well-known, as in the days when riverboats stopped there.

·         Harlan Hubbard, with Anna at his side, lived most of his life happily in the deep 
          woods.  Success was found in common hours.

·         Now, more people understand something special was hidden and found in a hollow.  
          Maybe you understand something of the magic already.