The air is brisk, but my insides are warm as I think back to my childhood. Weaving in and out of the bare trees, I smile to myself. Ripes in the small pond remind me of when my grandpa’s dogs jumped in and out of the clear, blue water. I’m sitting on the old, wooden dock looking down at the tadpoles that litter the water and move together but slowly. I want this moment in time to freeze; it’s absolutely breathtaking. Wind rushes around me, moving the golden leaves the once sat beside me. My grandpa’s house used to sit right beside this pond. Now there is only bare land. The nature institute down the road bought my grandpa’s property from him five years ago. It seems like only yesterday when I was sitting on his pouch playing with plastic tea cups and food, while looking at the nature around me. Everything was so big to me, and adventure was around every corner. I used to think the pond was as big as the ocean, and the house was a huge, white mansion fit for princesses.
In the summer, we would sit outside enjoying juicy slices of watermelon grown by my other grandfather. I always ended up drenched in watermelon juice but with the biggest smile on my face. One hot day, my older sister flew around her remote control airplane. I chased the bumble bee looking plane around the freshly mowed field. That birthday present quickly was destroyed by running into the large, metal barn. That barn and a small shed nearby are the only buildings that still remain on the property. I admit I do miss the house being here and the memories that were made in and outside of it, but I am glad it is benefiting the environment now by providing more habitats to wildlife.