Blind Pig & The Acorn

Looking For Rich Pine

On a chilly morning a few days ago the Blind Pig family headed up the ridge to look for rich pine.

Just in case you don't know-I guess I should show you what rich pine looks like first. As you can see from the photo above-it looks like an old rotted log.

But once you cut into it-you see its not rotten after all. Oh and it smells so good-sorta like pine-some folks say it smells like turpentine.

Now that you know what it looks like-we'll continue our search. Even though the morning was cold-the sun soon came out to warm things up and we grew warm with walking. More than a few layers had to be shed.

Along the way we noticed a squirrel that had met with an untimely end and

bemoaned the destruction caused by pine beetles. The folks who own this land had the pines logged before the beetles got to them. The ones on our land-they've been eaten and are now taking turns falling every time the wind blows.

After a short break...

we continued up a narrow holler where...

Chatter found a snow encrusted funny pine cone and The Deer Hunter found a funny feather.

He grabbed ahold of this rotted log-which turned out to really be just a rotted log not rich pine. Once the top came off in his hands he saw the tiny feather. We both wondered if something took the bird inside to eat it or if the bird went into the log to get away from something that wanted to eat it. There was no sign of a nest-just the feather.

The ridge above the little holler was full of rich pine-we actually found too much to carry home.

If you believe you've found a piece of rich pine-the easiest way to check is to see if it feels solid-and then shave a few pieces off with a sharp knife. You can see the bright color a few hits with a knife uncovers-and the smell is a good indicator too.

As many of you pointed out yesterday-it doesn't take much rich pine to start a fire-just a little dab will do you. And you certainly would not want to build an entire fire with rich pine.

All in all we had a good day in the woods-got some needed fresh air and exercise-and found a load of rich pine to boot.

Stick around-the rich pine talk isn't over yet.

Tipper

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Firewood When Pap Was A Boy

Me and The Deer Hunter only have to worry about wood for our heat. When Pap was a boy wood was needed for heat in addition to every time you cooked, washed clothes, took a bath, and the list goes on.

I'm sure you've heard the old joke-in fact Kenneth left a comment about it a few days ago-where a man says he thought his name was Git Wood until he was nearly grown.

Pap said when he was a boy some folks planned ahead and cut wood for the future with it ricked up in cords around their house and barns. When they needed wood it was already cut and stacked ready to be used. Other folks, like Pap's family, got their wood from day to day. They had a wood pile near by, but someone had to go out and split what was needed for the day and carry it in the house or at least onto the porch.

There were still native Chestnut trees when Pap was a boy-not living ones but skeletons of Chestnut trees that were killed by the blight. Pap said wood from them would burn even if it was wet with no kindling to get it started-women especially liked chestnut wood because it was so easy to start a fire with it. Back in those days, Pap said, every once in a while he'd come up on a big dead Chestnut back in the mountains. He said he always thought they looked like white ghosts shining through the woods.

Much like today, when Pap was a boy, oak was one of the top choices for wood to burn. Oak burns hot and doesn't burn too fast. Other top choices when Pap was a boy were locust, hickory, and just any other wood that was handy.

The Deer Hunter likes to use locust-which is almost impossible to find around here, oak, and hickory. He thinks poplar burns too fast to do any good and pine is full of creosote.

A few months ago someone had me ask Pap what was the best wood to burn for heat. Pap rattled off a list much like the one above and then said "But the answer to that question really depends on how cold you are."

What wood did you or do you like to burn?

Tipper

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Appalachia Through My Eyes - Holly Trees

From songs to decorations-Holly is all over Christmas. I've never given any thought to where holly trees grow until the other day. I over heard someone saying since they left the north east they sorely missed seeing the red berries on the holly trees this time of the year.

I assumed everyone in the US got to enjoy holly trees-so prettily decorated by nature. The woods surrounding my mountain holler are chock full of holly trees. The Deer Hunter has told me for years-the biggest holly tree he's ever seen is up the creek in the Tom Cove.

There are 3 holly trees on my road that never fail to catch my eye during the holiday season. Each tree is only a hop skip and a jump from the other. In fact as I write this I do believe you could draw a diagonal line between the 3 and it would be fairly straight. 

The first tree is in the yard of the first house on my road-a big white farm house-which is also by far the oldest house on my road. I've known the folks who lived there my entire life-first the elder couple-then their Grandson-now their Great Grandson. Now as I think about where holly trees grow-I wonder if their tree was left by chance-or if Clarence and Ruby, the elder couple, loved the red berries as much as I do and made sure the tree grew unhindered.

The second holly tree is just up the road, but out in the pasture. A little set of woods that breaks up the large pasture is home to that very large holly tree.

The third holly tree is a little further up the road-around the curve. It's not as large as the first 2 trees and it grows just outside the fence-all close up to the barb wire like it wishes it was in the pasture too.

As I was trying to find the natural growing range for holly trees-I found this page-you can jump over to see a map highlighting the growth areas. Also especially fitting was this quote from the page:

H. E. Grelen

When the Pilgrims landed the week before Christmas in 1620 on the coast of what is now Massachusetts, the evergreen, prickly leaves and red berries of American holly (Ilex opaca) reminded them of the English holly (Ilex aquifolium), a symbol of Christmas for centuries in England and Europe (13,26). Since then American holly, also called white holly or Christmas holly, has been one of the most valuable and popular trees in the Eastern United States for its foliage and berries, used for Christmas decorations, and for ornamental plantings.

Do Holly Trees grown naturally around your place?

Tipper

Appalachia Through My Eyes - A series of photographs from my life in Southern Appalachia.

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Appalachia Through My Eyes - Hearts A-Bustin

Euonymus Americanus-much better known as Hearts A Bustin' grows in the woods surrounding my house. For most of the growing season-the bush is one you hardly notice. But come Fall-the bush really puts on a show with its hot pink heart bustin open to reveal the red berries inside.

The bush is also commonly called: catspaws, strawberry bush, and jewel box.

Even though the bush has long since lost its bustin hearts for this year-today seemed totally appropriate for me to tell you about it. Guitar Man is getting on a plane up North early this morning, Pap and Steve are headed to Atlanta to pick him up right about now, and all our hearts are bustin with happiness knowing Guitar Man is coming home for Christmas.

Tipper

Appalachia Through My Eyes - A series of photographs from my life in Southern Appalachia.

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The Girl With The Chinquapin Eyes

 
Me circa 1973

Everyone who guessed yesterday's what is it was a Chinquapin-was right.

When I was young, people always told me I had Chinquapin eyes. As you can see from the photo my eyes are dark dark brown and rather large. Since I was backward and shy throughout my growing up years-I'm sure my solemn appearance added to the Chinquapin eye effect.

 

I knew what Chinquapins were-I had heard stories from Pap. Stories about how Chinquapins used to grow throughout the mountains-stories about kids eating them on the way home from school-stories about boys throwing the burs at one another for fun.

 

Even though I knew what Chinquapins were from an early age-I had never seen a real one-only the 2 that stare back at me when I look in the mirror.

A few weeks ago when I wrote about the Pawpaw Granny and Pap gave me-the subject of Chinquapins came up in the comment section. Kenneth Roper mentioned he had 3 Chinquapin trees at his place if I wanted to see them. That's all the invitation I needed.

 

Kenneth's Father planted the trees in the 60s. Kenneth doesn't know if they are the native variety or not. Their size makes me think they're not-you can get an idea of how large they are in the photo where you can see The Deer Hunter and Kenneth standing between two trees.

Pap told me the Chinquapins of his youth were small trees-more like an Apple or Pear tree. I asked Pap if the Chestnut blight also killed the Chinquapins-he said he didn't know if it was the blight or the spread of people.

 
The outer bur of the chinquapin turns brown and falls off the tree as the nut ripens. Once they fall to the ground-it's hard to beat the squirrels and other animals to them. Kenneth said his Father used to gather the still green burs and set them to dry beside the woodstove.

 

It tickled me to death to get to see a real chinquapin-but is also made me sad. 

At the beginning of this post-I said people told me I had Chinquapin eyes when I was young. Since the trees are gone from here now-many people don't even know about Chinquapins. And if they don't know about them-they sure can't tell me or any other little black eyed kid they have Chinquapin eyes.  

Yet there's hope.

No one had told me I had Chinquapin eyes in forever-until a little over a year ago when I met Jim Casada. One of the first things he said was a remark about my Chinquapin eyes. He made me feel like I was 6 years old again-hiding behind Granny's dress or Pap's legs.

Those old timey words are still out there-you the readers of the Blind Pig & the Acorn are evidence of that-we just need to keep talking about them and keep using them so the next generation will remember them too.

Tipper

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Pawpaws

 
All of you who guessed it was a Pawpaw were right. A gentleman who lives in the western part of our county sent 2 pawpaws home with Paul for Granny and Pap. Lucky for me-they ate one and saved the other for me.

I remember singing the Pawpaw song way back in Elementary school-maybe you sung it too? It went something like this:

Where, oh where is dear little Tipper?
Where, oh where is dear little Tipper?
Where, oh where is dear little Tipper?
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.

Come on girls, let’s go find her,
Come on boys, let’s go find her,
Come on everybody, let’s go find her,
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.

Pickin up pawpaws, put em in your pockets,
Pickin up pawpaws, put em in your pockets,
Pickin up pawpaws, put em in your pockets,
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.

When my teacher had the class sing the song-and act out the parts-I knew we were pretending to pick up some kind of fruit. For whatever reason I had it in my mind that pawpaws grew way down south in Mississippi or Louisiana. It was only a few years ago that I learned they grow in many parts of Appalachia-including my own.

 
After Granny and Pap shared with me-I started reading up on pawpaws. More than one source said they were cultivated by the Cherokee Indians. A few things other things I discovered:

• Pawpaws are fairly rare-not in that they are hard to grow-but in their shelf life. They don't ship or store well.
• Pawpaws have been making a come back in portions of the US.
• In 2009 the pawpaw was named the Native Fruit for the State of Ohio.
• In 1992 a study found pawpaws have an anti-cancer attribute.
• You can see close up photos of the pawpaw blooms, bark, and fruit here.
• Pawpaws are sometimes called Poor Man's Banana or Apple Custards.
• For planting information check out this site.
• To see a recipe for Pawpaw Pudding click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

 

The seeds inside pawpaws are huge-a little larger than a kidney bean. I've read varying accounts on the success of starting pawpaw trees from seeds-but since I have them I'm going to give it a try.

 

So what do pawpaws taste like? The answer varies with the person asked. Pap and Granny said between a pineapple and a banana; Paul said like an apple; The Deer Hunter said like a grape; and me-I say the taste is similar to a mango.

Know anything about pawpaws? Hope you'll leave a comment and tell me.

Tipper

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Wild Hazelnuts

 

The photo I showed you yesterday-was of a Corylus Cornuta-better known as a wild hazelnut. The plant is more of a shrub than a tree growing 5 to 10 feet tall. It can be found throughout North America and is prolific around my mountain holler.

A month or so ago Granny told me she'd been gathering hazelnuts from the backyard. Pap said she was getting them way to early-but Granny insisted she was going to get them before the ground squirrels found them.

 
The nut grows in the funny looking pod I showed you yesterday-the plant is actually called the Beaked Hazelnut. Once the outer green fuzzy hull dries out the little brown nut falls to the ground.

Very few people take time to fool with the small nut today, but Pap said it was common for folks to gather hazelnuts when he was a boy. Some other things he told me about them:

• kids often made a snack of them when they were playing or walking somewhere
• Pap's grandmother and mother would send him to gather hazelnuts
• it seemed like the fuzzy green outer shell had more fuzz on it back then-Pap's hands would be full of fuzz after a day of picking hazelnuts
• hazelnuts make Pap think of Christmas-because children usually got 4 or 5 hazelnuts in their Christmas stocking
• after picking the nuts folks would put them in a bread pan in a warm oven to help dry them out good before storing
• if they shelled the nut out-they made sure to put it in something with a tight lid cause bugs liked hazelnuts too
• the shrubs seemed to grow best along old road beds and clearings
• many people simply called them haznuts

 

When I took the photo of the outer green hull I showed you yesterday-I thought now I'm not going to do like Granny I'm going to wait till the hull dries out before I pick any of the hazelnuts growing in my backyard.

Well Granny was right. I went back a few days later to check-and couldn't find one hazelnut-all I found was the dirty dishes (nut shells) left by my little ground squirrel friends.

Tipper

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Appalachia Through My Eyes - Whorled Loosestrife

 
This pretty wildflower grows all along the edge of my yard-nodding it's bright eyes at me every time I walk to the clothes line.

It is believed to take away strife, or debate between ye beasts, not onely those that are yoked together, but even those that are wild also, by making them tame and quiet...

Quote by: Neltje Blanchan Wild Flowers Worth Knowing 1917.

Maybe that's why my yard seems so very peaceful.

Tipper

Appalachia Through My Eyes - A series of photographs from my life in Southern Appalachia.

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Squaw Root

 
The sights of Cataloochee were a true feast for my eyes-the history being the best thing on the plate-but coming in a close second were the trees-bushes-and other fauna.

 

We were only a few hundred yards from the car when I noticed this unusual plant-it's called Squaw Root. I had never seen it before-but it immediately made me think of Indian Smoke Pipe.

 

Like Indian Pipes/Ghost Flower, Squaw Root is a parasitic plant and is typically found in dry areas under oak trees where it feeds on their roots. Squaw Root grows up to 8 inches high.

The common name, Squaw Root, comes from the use of the plant. Indian women used it to relieve pain from childbirth as well as from menstrual cramps.

Funny that when I first seen the odd little plant it reminded me of Indian Pipes-and then to find out they both have common names that relate to Native Americans-and are both parasitic.

Does Squaw Root grow in your area?

Tipper

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Leaves Of Three Let Them Be

 
This time of the year folks start worrying about bug bites-and the dreaded case of poison oak or poison ivy. I know they're different plants-but we always called the itchy stuff poison oak no matter which plant it came from. Growing up I was lucky-I never had poison oak-but that wasn't the case for others in my family.

Granny is highly allergic to the stuff. Honest to goodness-certain times of the year she can walk through the yard and catch it from the wind blowing. When she was pregnant with me she had a horrible case of poison oak-her and Pap always said that's why I didn't get it-that I had built up an immunity to it when Granny was carrying me.

 
Paul and Steve didn't get that same immunity. One of the worst cases Paul ever had was during the middle of the winter. It was in the late 70's during one of the coldest winters on record for our area. We still had gravity water and it had frozen solid. Pap built fires along the length of black pipe that wasn't buried to thaw it. Paul and I loved it-we played in the fires and explored the woods. We inadvertently burned poison oak, and in just a day or so Paul was eat up with the raised itchy patches. Paul's case was severe so Pap took him to a local pediatrician who proceeded to explain to Pap that the boy could not have poison oak-as it was the dead of winter. After the doc left the room her nurse told Pap "she's crazy as a loon that's poison oak if I've ever seen it!" A trip to a different doctor got Paul a much needed shot and medication for his aliment.

Steve's job often requires him to be in weedy brushy areas and he has become an expert at heading his outbreaks off as soon as he notices one-but he's also had to have shots on more than one occasion.

Sadly, my immunity ran out summer before last. I was helping a lady friend work in her flowers and apparently in the process of pulling armfuls of weeds I pulled up poison oak. At first I didn't really know what it was-I went and showed my arms to Pap. He thought it looked like poison oak-but said he didn't know since I'd never had it before surely it wasn't.

To say I was in misery is an understatement. After a few days of the mess Steve came to check on me-he took one look and said "yep that's poison oak." For over a week I tried every home remedy you've ever heard of-from oatmeal to peroxide-nothing helped. Finally on a Saturday afternoon I gave up the fight and paid a visit to a local urgent care center. The doctor who saw me said "you waited about a week too long to come" he gave me 2 shots and sent me back by the hospital emergency room for a couple of pain killers. My own stubbornness made me wait to go to the doctor-and I have faint scars on the insides of each arm to remind me I'm no longer immune to poison oak-and I don't ever want to have that vile affliction again.

A few home remedies I've heard about:

• fingernail polish-Granny swears by this one. At the first little sign of a bump or patch cover it with fingernail polish-supposedly it seals the place off from air and helps it dry up
• clorox to kill the poison
• spread cooked oatmeal on the patches to relieve the pain/itching and to dry the areas up
• mix baking soda with water and put on patches
• use vinegar to stop the itching
• use buttermilk to relieve the itch
• rub patches with peroxide or alcohol to kill the poison and dry up the areas-this one-hurts so bad but feels so good at the same time-make sense?
• several remedies suggest taking a bath in salt, soda, or oatmeal water-while others warn of never taking a bath

 

(Jewelweed)

One of my favorite books on folk medicine-Folk Medicine In Southern Appalachia by Anthony Cavender has this to say about remedies for poison oak/ivy:

"poultices of cooked or crushed leaves of peach tree, jewelweed, ragweed, red oak, willow, or nightshade; juice of a green tomato or milkweed; and topical solutions of red oak or willow bark. Frequently reported nonbotanical remedies include buttermilk, soda paste, Epsom salt solution, cow's cream (sometimes mixed with gunpowder), a biscuit soaked in sweet milk, calamine lotion, salt water solution, and bleach. According to some reports it was believed that one could develop an immunity to poison ivy by eating some of it's leaves. This dangerous and potentially fatal folk belief still circulates today."

 

Ever since I had my horrible case of poison oak-you better believe I've watched out for it-and I've took notice of any remedies I come across too. One mentioned in Cavender's book-is Jewelweed. I've recently read several positive accounts of the use of this native plant. When I was growing up we called it 'wild touch me nots' -because at the end of the summer you can 'touch' their seed pods and watch them explode. Generally the plants grow in shady damps places and can reach 2-3 feet tall. The juice of the plant is a natural cortisone and is supposed to be an excellent remedy for poison oak, poison ivy, bee stings, and bug bites. I hope to never have poison oak again-but if I do I'm going to try jewleweed as a remedy.

Ever had posion oak? What remedy does your family use?

Tipper

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