Cane Grinding

While in Jennings over Thanksgiving, we went to Mr. and Mrs. Devane's annual cane grinding and syrup boiling.  The Devanes are my folk's closest neighbors, and their weekend shack and syrup house is a few miles down the road.  Cane syrup was a cultural staple in the deep South, but like so many other rural traditions it's fading away in favor of cheaper, less labor intensive substitutes.  In this case, artificially-flavored corn syrup.  The Devanes grow a patch of sugar cane and have a tradition of grinding it and cooking it down every Thanksgiving.  It's always a wonderful treat to smell the syrup cooking on the cool air.

Thanks for letting us come enjoy the fruits of your efforts!

The Devane's syrup house

Cane juice coming from the grinder

Papa Don showing the boys how it works

Each of them got a piece of sugar cane to chew....a treat!

Boiling the juice down into syrup

Patiently waiting?

A catface pine log from the turpentine days

Molly talking with Mrs. Devane

The boys playing on an old Farmall at the Johnson's cane grinding.

The Johnson's syrup house

I love this skillet hanger....in a 100+ year old farmhouse

The old Johnson House

Where the meals were

Happy Thanksgiving!

Making homemade lemonade tonight & a fresh green salad to take over to Jennings in the morning.  Gobble gobble!

to eat a carrot

fresh from the garden - then lightly steamed & pureed

her first bite

carrots oozing back out

6 months

I found this dress at the Goodwill in Athens while pregnant with Levi - I absolutely love it & have held it all this time, just waiting to see...



The citrus is ripe at our house.  Satsumas (above) & the lemons below.

Six Months Old Tomorrow!

sunshine morning

a bit of time each day is spent with toes in the grass - inspecting (and eating) leaves, grass, and pine needles

she had her first 'real' bite of food yesterday : a chunk of kale swiped & gulped down before I could extracted it while sitting on her blanket in the garden 

Levi's newly constructed 'science board' - all manner of animals are included - I love these ideas he comes up with - my *favorites* are of course the very detailed house fly & yellow jacket

a new bunting for the livingroom - Levi picked out & cut the fabric himself - I did the sewing

my 'Thanksgiving cactus' blooming right on time

we did a 'grow out' of the few Carolina Redstick bean seeds we had = grown strictly to let the beans mature to create a new seed crop
we are harvesting the first of these mature beans

another 'grow out' for Wildwood Pumpkin seeds produced this lovely

one of the very first blooms beginning to open on the first of 20+ Camellia bushes around the property

Jemima surrender

aint no pretender gonna ride in my canoe

Sprucing up the joint

The lady with the helmet baby...

I know people are just curious, but lately when I shop I avoid making eye contact with anyone I pass just so I don't have to explain the 'why' of my daughter's head gear.  It gives me a glimpse of what anyone with a permanent disability endures long term.

today

• I am setting mouse traps with PB.  It's getting cold & the house is inviting.
• My youngest child is sitting up & playing on her own.
• Another curveball at the Pine Hill house:  septic tank needs pumping.  New toliet, bath floor, and completely replumbed last week.  I hear rumors of a new hot water heater this weekend.
• Moving (many) houseplants inside.  Our first freeze expected Friday night.
• Eating hordes of ripe satsumas (a type of tangerine).

Hello