Another diversion might be the garden, which was the only division of the back yard at the time; there is no chicken coop, no dog pens, and no shed. The only real boundary is the fence between Mr. Friedeck’s yard and ours. There is a little gate in the middle of that. We have three fruit trees (two peach and one plum) that never produce much fruit but are a haven and hang-out for wasps. In summer there are rows of corn and squash and tomatoes and green beans to walk up and down in, hunting bugs and eating beans. In fall and winter, after plowing, there are dirt clods for epic throwing battles or building walls and houses. These fights are good for practicing dodging as well as throwing, and we are seldom badly hurt unless we catch a clod to the face. Rocks are strictly forbidden by the Geneva Convention, but clods are softer and disintegrate spectacularly on impact.
[This picture is from some time later, of course, in 1972. We're all squinting from the sun. Mike is holding a rubber snake and a rubber alligator. John and I are barefoot. Kenny is wearing the 'Snoopy' shirt, which features a dog - a sort of Snoopy knock-off - and a hydrant, repeated many times.]
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