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Photo Challenge

Nostalgia

What kinds of experiences stir emotions for the past within you?

As a child growing up in southern New England, late September marked the beginning of autumn, which meant a trip to the local apple orchard and pumpkin patch. My family and I would often spend Saturday afternoon in the crisp fall air in search of the perfect apples and pumpkins to make pies and other delicious treats to snack on through the remainder of the year.

For families around the world, the changing of the seasons ushers in a variety of traditions. Some folks take trips to lakes and beaches in the summer, go on adventures in the big city, or relax in the countryside. Others may not go anywhere in particular. They may make special meals during the holidays with friends or play board games together.

Apples sitting in a basket during autumn in Massachusetts.

For me, this time of year makes me think about these orchard trips with my family. Looking at this photo of apples, from the Flying Cloud Apple Orchard in Acushnet, Massachusetts, I can almost taste the cider that was such a treat to drink when I was a child.

Of course, nostalgia is something that affects everyone differently. We’d love to know what kinds of experiences you’ve had that stir these emotions for the past in you.

For this challenge, show us what nostalgia means to you — perhaps a moment or scene that makes you feel wistful, happy, sad, or somehow longing for the past. It might be with friends, family, or by yourself — anywhere, anytime of year. We can’t wait to see your interpretations of this theme!

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  1. I don’t remember doing many visits to orchards as a child…. but my children do. When they were young, I made it a yearly tradition to visit the orchard or the corn maze and we have many happy memories because of it.
    Long live the apple orchards! The smell of the apples, the crisp fresh fall air, and the wagon rides!
    It was the perfect excuse to get outside and enjoy before the weather turned and the snow fell and the bushels of apples that we picked provided us lots of good old fashioned baking days. Pies and apple cake and applesauce were all made, crowded around the table with my babies.
    I love summer, but it’s the fall that makes me the most nostagic!

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    1. Heyo! Really like your perspective of the tree against the sky. Great contrast. And I agree with you that spending time contemplating the future can certainly be important. But spending time to reflect can be comforting!

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  6. Lovely image, but the thought of you drinking cider as a child made me smile. Here in the UK cider is a fairly strong alcoholic beverage and strictly for adults only. I’m guessing your cider = our apple juice 🙂

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    1. Hey Jude! (heh). And yes, I thought of that right after this post was published! In the US we have a few different types of Apple related beverages. Our apple juice is super processed and full of sugar… not very healthy! Our “Regular” Cider is like apple juice, but it’s straight from pressed apples and non-alcoholic (probably what you call apple juice in the UK!). And then we have “Hard Cider” which is the alcoholic beverage you speak of! 😀 I can assure you my parents did not feed me hard cider as a child…. I think ;-P

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  27. http://gallery.jrileystewart.com/architecture
    I love exploring (and sharing) old architectural relics. They always conjure up thoughts about the people who lived there, worked there, worshipped there…and even perhaps died there. Those were the days before man turned the world into plastic and concrete. When we borrowed from nature all the materials we needed to shelter ourselves, and when we were done with them, we returned those materials to nature. Those times deserve to be remembered.

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      1. Thanks, Jeff. You must be like me, always eager to crawl around on stacked rocks wondering when they will give way and kill us ;). Thanks for the compliments! We have lots of old mills here in this part of the country (mid-Atlantic), but for the most part they were grist mills (not much cotton ginning down here). Check this out: http://jrileystewart.com/koken/albums/virginia-grist-project/

        Can I find you on Instagram? https://www.instagram.com/jrileystewart/

        Cheers!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for sharing all these wonderful quotes Tina! While they all resonate pretty well with me, I especially love “nostalgia for the present.” Definitely some great lessons you’ve shared. Thank you so much!

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      1. Thanks so much, Jeff. Travel is a huge part of our family life. We used to take them all over, and now we go see them wherever they end up. Right now both kids are teaching at the same university in Mongolia, so that’s the incentive we needed to go to Upper Mongolia!

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