Up’n Buurnhoff is an Sunndaagnamiddaag nich all to veel wat sik affspeeln deiht, dat is jo de Ruhedaag, egol wo drock se dat uk hefft. Furn’s nah’n Middaagseten keem de Middaagsslop un denn wurd maakt wat een in’n Kopp keem. Maal wurr de Sunndaagskutsche ut de Schüün holt, affstuuvt or uk maal wuschen un denn de Päär anspannt un denn wurd maal een vun de Verwandten besöggt. Dat kunn uk angahn, dat denn Buur de Hoot dar nah stund, sik maal de Fööt to vertreen. Dat he tokieken wull, wo dat Veeh woll stund, dar inn’e Wisch.

So keem dat uk an dissen eenen Sunndaagnamiddaag at mien Fründ un ik sien Vadder begleeden deen, up sien Spazeergang in’t Feld. To Anfang gung dat meiß verdwass dör de Wisch, maal an'n Tuun entlang, maal ne Tiet an’n Wall entlang, över sien eegen Land, maal över denn Nahbor sien Land. Wenn't nu over maal över de Rickels gung, dar weer ümmer een Steeg. Dat weern twee korte Pöhl, de inne Grund ingroben wurn, bold soon halben Meter hoch. Dar wurd een Brett över noggelt, boben wo de boberste Stacheldroht weer, dar wurd anstatt Draht, een lieken Tacken twüschen twee Tuunpöhl nogelt. So dat een sik nich de Büxen twei rieten de, wenn he dar röver klattern de.

Up disse Art vun Spazeergang, kunn de Buur glieks seen, of sien Tuun up’e Reeg weer, or of sien Veeh dar utbreken kunn. Een Heck harrn wi all woller insett un twee Drahte woller tohoop dreiht. Nah soon Tiet, just at wi bi de Gabel in Weg ankeemen, seen wi all woller een Heck wat uthung weer un dar bi to leeg. Dat seeg over verdächtig ut, bold so at wenn dar een mithulpen harr. Over nüms weer to seen. Wi hulpen denn Buur dat Heck woller into hangen un gungen wieter. Een lüttjen beten denn Padd endal, dar bi de grooten Eekbööm, dar dreepen wi soon ganzen Hopen Jungs, de dar bi weern Stickelstangen to fangen. Vun dat Heck, dar wussen se nix vun. Se harrn soon olen Futten denn se verdwass dör denn Sielgroben trucken un up’n annern End dar harrn se een annern Buur siene Mölkkannen, all neben annern in Groben leggt un dreben nu de Stickelstangen in de Mölkkannen. Se weern so beschäftigt mit eehre Fischeree dat se us gornich seen harrn. Se weern an lachen un sprungen in Groben un woller rut, se reeten de Kannen hoch un smeeten se up’n Weg. Dar wurn se eenfach umkippt un de Poggen un Stickelstangen jumpten up in dahl. De Üützepoggen, de leeten sik nich lang nödigen de sprungen glieks woller in Groben, over de Wittfisch un de Stickelstangen, de smeeten de Jungs in een Emmer, de all bold halv full weer.

„Nix at dumm't Tüch hefft ji in Kopp, ji verdammten Jungs, maakt dat ji wieter kaamt un laht jo nich woller seen," schull de Buur se ut. Do neiden se ut. Darmit gungen wi wieter, um denn Buur sien Veeh to telln.

Dat geev us ümmer Plaseer dör dat wiete, open Feld nah de Hunte hen to loopen. Dar maal eben övern Diek to kieken, um to seen of dar woll Ebb or Floot weer, uk of een Schipp keem. Wenn dar een vun de Frachtschleppers keem, denn nehmen wi us Snottrag un wunken. De Gören an Bord, de schreen us meiss wat to, veel verstahn kunn wi nich, de snakten een annert Platt, over so wat at Plattfööt un doof, dat kunn wi uk verstahn.

Up’n Weg nah Huus weer us Intresse mehr up all de Vogels richt, de disse Felder eer Tohuus nennden. Dat weer een Paradies vor de Vogelwilt, dor weern soveel verscheeden Sorten. Nebenbi weern dar uk noch de Üützepoggen un de Adebar. De Kiebitze un Bachstelzen un de Kuckuck, de Schwalben, Drosseln, Luntjen, un Meisen un noch veele, veele annere Vagels.

An'n Rand vun de Felder, wo de grooten Eekenbööm stunnen, dar weer jo uk de Quelle, wo to fröheren Tieten, de Grof Anton Günther sien Woter her holen leet. Wi mossen dar uk hen un eben wat drinken. Dat hörde dar so mit to, to soon Spazeergang. Hier mööten wi woller mit de Jungs up, se stunnen all unner een vun de grooten Eeken un keeken dar rup. It weer Hermann, he gung jo mit us in eene Klasse, de dar boben an’t rumklattern weer. He wull maal eben in dat Heisternest kieken. Disse Kloksnakeree de dar an gung up de Wisch, unner denn grooten Boom, un de Schuppseree un dat Kniepen, Lachen un Blaren. All dit to glieken Tiet, dat kunn uk blots vun soon Hopen Jungs kaamen, de maal wat utfreten wulln, egol wat dat uk weer.

Hermann, de nu bold boben weer, meende noch dat de Utsicht, doch ganz moi weer vun boben dahl. He weer nu sowiet dat he in’t Nest rinlangen kunn, um nah to kieken of dar noch Eier in weern. Wi weern uk stahn bleven um to seen, wo dat woll affloopen dä. Just at he sien Hand in’t Nest rin steckte, sprung dar up maal een Moort (Marder) rut. leep bi Hermann denn Arm langs, suusde em över’n Kopp weg un denn Puckel dahl. So gau at de Moort kunn, klatterde he nu denn Boom runner. Vun eenen Tacken nahn annern, wuss uk woll nich recht wo he henn schull. Mit all de Jungs de dar unnen rum sprungen un nu uk noch anfungen em mit Steenen to smieten. Do leep de Moort up eenen grooten Tacken, de meiss bit up de Grund dahl gung, vun dar wull he runnerspringen. Just at he affsprung do smeet de Buur sien Handstock up em to, un dreep denn Moort so verdwass in’t Liev. He överschloog sik eers maal inne Luft, un denn, at he up de Grund full, dar neide he ut, so gau at he kunn.

Dat weer jo allerhand Upreegung in socke korte Tiet, numms harr sik um Hermann kümmert. He seet dar noch boben in Boom, bold so at wenn he anfroren weer. Ganz bleek weer he in’t Gesicht, he röögte sik nich un seggen de he uk nix.

„Nu kaam man woller runner, dar is nix mehr in, wat ji noch bruuken könnt," meende de Buur, - „hess woll doch soon beten Schiss harrt, wa?" „Laht man sinnig angahn."

Hermann keem nu bi lütjen dahl un wi gungen wieter.

Jo, in de Felder, wor anners nich veel is, dar kann een doch wunnerbore Erfohrungen maaken. Wenn't uk blots up een Sunndaagnamiddaagspazeergang is.

Trüch nah: Mien Heimaat Siet

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Walking through the fields

By Johnny Meyer

 

On a Sunday after noon, there is not much that happens on any farm. No matter how important the task is, simply because that is a day of rest. Right after lunch, normally comes a short nap and after that, one does what ever comes to mind. Some times the Sunday buggy got moved out of the barn, dusted off, or even washed. Then a couple of horses got hitched up, so that some relatives or friends could be visited. It also could happen that a farmer decided to take a nice long walk, to inspect his livestock. That is the way it happened on this particular day when my friend and I decided to accompany his father on his walk into the fields and pastures.

To begin with it would take us along hedges, fences and groups of trees, sometimes on the farmers own land and some times over the neighbors land. If we had to cross a fence, there always would be a fence crossing. By that I mean that two short poles got dug into the ground, one on either side of the fence, a board would be nailed across it, about 2 feet of the ground so that one could step onto the board and get over the fence. On top where normally the top barbed wire is, there a straight branch from a tree or a board would be nailed on the two fence post nearest the crossing, so that a person climbing over the fence, would not rip their pants.

On this kind of walk a farmer could also inspect his fences to make sure his live stock could not run away. We already had replaced a gate and mended two broken barbwires. After a while, just about the time when we got to the Fork in the road, we noticed a gate that had been lifted of its hinges and placed in a peculiar way which gave suspicion that some one did this on purpose. Anyway we hung the gate back in its place and proceeded on our walk.

After a few short bends in the road we came to the End of the tree line from here on it was wide open country just grassland, all the way up to the river.

We surprised a group of young boys, some of them we knew out of our class in school, these boys where busy catching minnows in a drainage ditch. They had taken some other farmers milk cans, laid them side by side into the ditch, than they would drag this old cloth across the ditch towards the cans and with that chase all the minnows into the cans. Then they would lift the cans out real fast and throw the cans onto the road. All the frogs that also got caught, did not need an extra invitation, no, they jumped by themselves back into the ditch. But the minnow and white fish would be picket up and thrown into a bucket, which was almost half full.

„Nothing but crazy ideas, that’s all you damned boys have got, get out of here and don’t ever come back," yelled the farmer at the boys, they ran away and we, continued on our walk to count the farmers live stock.

It was always a real pleasure to walk through the wide open fields. Eventually, we would run up to the dike, climb on top, just to see whether it was low or high tide. Or if maybe a ship or barge would come by. If one of the big barges would come by, we would take out our henkershief, if we had one, and wave. Some times, some of the kids on board would yell things back at us, but usually we could not understand them. They mostly spoke a different kind of language, but things like flatfeet, stupid and kiss my butt, that we always understood.

. On our way home it was more of interest to us, to watch all the different types of birds that would call these fields their home. All these frogs and birds like storks, cranes, lapwings, sandpipers, sparrows, swallows and many, many more would be all around us.

Back at the edge of the fields, close to this big magnificent oak tree, there was a spring, one of importance, since it had supplied in bygone days a duke and duchess with all their drinking water, which they had hauled from here into town. Of course no one would take a walk with out taking time out and have a nice fresh drink from this spring.

Here close by, we met up with the boys again, they were tumbling and laughing and wise cracking pushing and shoving each other and also looking up this tree. An other big oak tree, in which Hermann was trying to climb to the top, to inspect this magpie nest which was up there. We also stopped just to see what the outcome would be, just about then, Hermann reached into this magpie nest and out came this marten, ran along his out stretched arm, over his head and down his back, all in a split second. Down the tree the marten came, as fast as he could, not really knowing where to go too, since all the boys were screaming and jumping up and down and now even throwing rocks at him. The marten finally choose a big branch that came close to the ground, so he could jump from there. Just as he jumped, the farmer through his cane towards the marten and hit him broadside, so that the marten made a complete somersault before he hit the ground and ran away as fast as possible.

That was a lot of excitement in a relative short time, in the meantime no body had paid any attention to Hermann, he was still up there in the tree, just as if he had frozen in place, didn’t move, didn’t speak, he was petrified, oh, was he pale.

„Just come on down, there is nothing in there, that any of you boys can use!, that scared the hell out of you, didn’t it"? „Just take it easy on your way down."

Hermann slowly came down and we walked away. That was enough excitement for a Sunday after noon walk.

 

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