Wishing....wishing

   This far south, we do not get the beautiful fall foliage show that occurs in the more northern states.  We have to be happy with an occasional orange or red leaf that may slowly drift from the gum trees or popcorn trees.  Sometimes, the maples will put on a show if the weather is reasonable but the drought has browned the leaves before any color change has happened.  So...we take what we get.   Here I am just wishing for some autumn-like show but, instead, I am crunching dried leaves.  

  My hike this morning did bring a smile as I found two...yes, TWO...signs of fall!  First, as I made my way around back behind the greenhouse and grape arbors, I was tickled to find a couple of wild persimmons still hanging on the tree.  The little gold blobs are not ripe and would cause me to pucker up something fierce, if I tried to eat one.  The drought caused huge droppage of the fruit early on and the possums will most likely get the few that hang on the limbs before the first frost makes them sweet.  Still, I saw them and that brought a flood of happy memories.  On the old farm place, there was a few wild persimmon trees in the woods between the house and fields.  I can recall always trying to snitch a snack even though I was warned of the puckering and drying effect that I would surely experience.  The high content of tannins in the unripe fruit make them...ummm...rather unpalatable.  Still...autumn!  Wee bits of autumn dangled from the limbs of the persimmon trees!

  Then, as I meandered near the old canebrake, a second color blast brought vibes of fall and more memories.  A beautyberry shrub had the bright purplish berries starting to ripen.  Though, sparse due to the weather, a few stalks had the nice, rounded clumps on the branches.  These things always mesmerized me as a kid because what kid does not like purple (of any kind) and I loved watching the chickens hop up and down as they stripped the branches of the small berries.  To a kid, seeing a chicken hop is an amusing thing.  Seeing hundreds of chickens hop is downright comical. (Yes, Pop had hundreds of chickens when I was a kid.)  The beautyberry sighting brought a fit of giggles as I thought of those goofy chickens bouncing around the woods.

  So, fall is here, I guess.  I found my two bits of evidence that the summer is waning and perhaps cooler weather is in the works.  I sure hope so.  

Inconspicuous!

   Most folks have a tendency to overlook things simply because something a bit showier is catching their attention.   Expensive clothes, loud music, the huge house are all of the things that draw attention away from a sensibly dressed person, a bird song or a cottage.  It is just human nature.  Speaking of nature, the same holds true there, as well.  For instance, the bright red cardinal will stand out against the tiny brown wren, a rose will overshadow a wee bluet and a dolphin will surely garner more attention than a bull minnow!  That said, I tend to shy away from the elaborate things in life purely because of the attention.  I am a person that lives a much simpler life than most so it is understandable that I cherish what others deem as mundane.  I see the beauty in most everything...simple or elaborate...plain or gaudy.  Everything has its place.

  I thought of this while out back behind the canebrake.  The rains had stopped just enough for me to slip out for a few moments.  It was there that I spied the American Beautyberry bush.  Normally, this is something that most only recognize in the fall when the lengthy canes are dotted with clumps of magenta colored berries.  The bush is truly a showstopper and can be found wild just about everywhere.  Like I said...it is a showstopper in the fall.  During the rest of the year, it goes unnoticed even though there are lovely pinkish lavender blooms that precede those berries.  The blooms are so tiny and so pale that most folks never notice them.  I do!  In fact, that was the one reason I dared to sneak to the back even under the threat of being caught in a thunderstorm.  The blooms always make me smile.  American Beautyberry is truly lovely year round...often overlooked during the spring but beautiful just the same.

Now, we're talking!

  The old dog had enough energy to walk with me to the back part of the property.  His wobbly legs made this a slow-paced walk but it gave me plenty of time to photograph things along the way.  Near the small pump shed, there is a scraggly (for most of the year) shrub that always brightens my day during this time of year.  The American Beautyberry is one of my favorites!  During the winter months, the stalks sit bare and dry but come spring, it burst forth with bright green leaves.  In the beginning of summer, those stalks start showing some nondescript clusters of tiny flowers.  Being as they are the palest of pinks and well hidden beneath the large leaves, the blooms often go unnoticed.  Later, those tiny blooms drop and the brightest violet berries take their place.  It is those berries that claim all the glory for the shrub!  Also, it is those berries that bring my smiles.

  Although the calendar says that fall has not arrived as of yet, I do believe it is here!  The American Beautyberry says it is so it must be true.  The shrub would not lie!  By all accounts, the shrub's berries ripen in the fall so fall it is.  I am ready!  These berries are an important food source for many of the birds on the Bayou.  Back when I was just a tyke running barefoot on the farm, Pop told me the bush was a "Turkey Berry" bush so the name stuck.  It makes sense.  Turkeys love the berries and Pop would often scout out the heaviest laden shrub.  Then, just about Thanksgiving, he would quietly sit near the bush and wait.  If a turkey happened to come dine upon the berries, we had a grand Thanksgiving dinner!  

  Now, however, the shrubs are left as landscape beauties.  Turkeys can freely dine upon them along with the many other birds.  My happiness lies purely in the fact that summer is coming to an end and fall is on its way....according to the American Beautyberry shrub.  Now, we're talking!  Fall...yes, please!

August...Autumn...Whatever

  It has to be fall.  I know according to all sources, we have an entire month to go before Autumn.  That is reality.  That is what the so-called experts say.  Here on the Bayou, I am ready now.  I want Autumn in August.  It makes sense.  Both start with the same letters so they should be together.  It is as simple as that.  In my world, the fall season should start as soon as July is over.  On the Bayou at least, things are going to be that way regardless of what the rest of the world thinks.

  My hike took me around back to the Boysenberry patch.  I could hear hummingbirds battling over the Red Trumpet flowers and was in hopes of catching a photograph or two of them.  It did not happen.  I was waylaid by berries!  Not berries of the Boysenberry kind but of the Beautyberry kind.  The American Beautyberry bush was absolutely living up to its name.  It was gorgeous!  While most folks rip these fine shrubs out and call them weeds, I cherish them and leave them wherever they wish to grow.  The bushes have no thorns like roses, do not spread like wisteria or cause rashes like the sumac.  So...what is not to love?

  For as long as I can remember, this bush has been tied to the family in one way or another.  Like most farm families, we made use of just about anything and everything. (This is a trait that is hard to unlearn as I still hate wasting anything and have been known to keep a few things that others deem as trash.)  The American Beautyberry was encouraged to grow in the woods around the farm.  Both the chickens and the hogs loved to munch the berries.  It was a funny sight to see the fat hens jumping up to pluck the berries from the stems.  Sometimes, one feisty hen would grab an entire limb thinking she had hit the mother lode of berries.  She would drop to the ground and let go of the branch to munch the berries.  The springy limb would shoot upwards all the while berries were showering in a great arch.  All of the other hens would come running to share in the wealth.  There would be a mass feeding frenzy for a few moments.

  The stalks of berries were also cut for decorations for our local Halloween Carnival/Fall Festival.  Pop usually was in charge of these fine events at the local school.  Each year just before the even was to start, we would drive around picking Ditch Daisies and Beautyberries.  What fine arrangements these made in galvanized buckets!  The bright yellow daisies and striking purple berries added a definite flair to the party!   All of this reminiscing makes me want to go scouring the countryside for Ditch Daisies and Beautyberries!  I just need to get a few old tin buckets!

What a beauty!

  The American Beautyberry is in all of its glory right now.  The edge of the woods is a veritable sea of purple!  Back behind the canebrake, Mark and I came across yet another of these fine bushes.  We knew of the ones back near the mulch piles but this one sort of took us by surprise.  Just this past spring, it was a tiny thing.  I had made it clear that neither of the guys were to cut that bush!  No lawnmower was to ever touch any of its lovely branches!  Well, that may have just backfired on me as for one reason or another, I have had to do all of the grass cutting this summer.  Geez!  I guess I had myself to blame for that one!  (Not really, it seems that every time the grass was getting a tad tall, both Mark and Michael were either busy or ill.  I do not mind, though, as while I am the one cutting, I have the prerogative to leave whatever bush or plant that I find interesting!

  The American Beautyberry has been a favorite of mine since I was old enough to hike across the wide pond to feed the chickens in the old barn back on the farm.  There was a small plank bridge that ran the span of the pond and once I was able to toddle across without falling into the snake-infested pond, the chickens were my (and my older brother..older by one year!) responsibility.  At ages four and five, we had to tote feed across the pond to the barn, feed the chickens and pick the eggs.  This brought about my interest in the Beautyberry bush. Those gorgeous purple berries always seemed to be favorites of the hens.  They would jump up and strip down the berries all the while flapping their wings as if to fly to the moon.  The berries would scatter about on the thick layer of pine straw and send the entire flock of chickens into a feeding frenzy.  They would scurry about scratching in that pine straw as if their very lives depended on them catching every last elusive berry!

  These very same berries were used in decorating for the Halloween Carnival at the local school.  The long stalks with their numerous clusters of berries were mixed with yellow "Ditch Daisies" to make gorgeous arrangements!  (At least they seemed gorgeous to a youngster!)  Even now, I have this inexplicable desire to pick the branches and haul them inside!  There, the tiny berries can fall off after a few days and be squished into the flooring by anyone who walks near the arrangement!  Which is entirely ok if you like purple-stained floors...something  that I really would not mind in the least.  There was also a tale that Mom used to tell of how her mother used the berries to dye a wool coat.  Back in the day when it was absolutely necessary to use clothes until they were beyond repair, items were either remade or dyed to "freshen" the look.  As a child, Ruthie (my mother) had outgrown her good wool coat.  Since it was to be handed down to Helen (my aunt), the coat would need to be dyed.  Not able to afford "store-bought" dye, my grandmother picked a bucketful of the berries and boiled them to make a lovely dye.  The wool coat was then plunged into the dye to achieve a lovely shade of dark fuchsia.  I can only imagine that Helen was the only child in school with such a colorful, wool coat!

  With all of its helpful properties..dye, bug repellent (leaves repel mosquitoes and ticks), and food source (berries used in making jelly) and decorative uses..the American Beautyberry should be on the top of everyone's list as a possible yard plant.  It is quite easy to grow since once it is established, it requires absolutely no care whatsoever!  Just remember to keep the lawnmower away from it and you are good to go!

Beautyberry..Insect Repellent or Memory Trigger??

I was out back today trying to clean a bit of the yard.  It seems that the dead leaves are falling at a rapid rate and I will never stay ahead of these things.  Early in the morning, it was cool enough that I was not bothered by the mosquitoes but by mid-morning, they were terrible!  Without giving it a second thought, I reached over to grab a couple of American Beautyberry leaves to rub on my arms.  This does a great job at repelling most biting insects!  Of course, I smelled a tad strange after that but I suppose that I already reeked a bit from working so hard!  This action made me recall a time back on the farm when I was a youngster.

Pop had a good many chickens on the farm along with a variety of other animals.  After all..it was a farm!  Anyway, the chickens were kept in a large barn on the other side of a nice sized pond.  During the day, the chickens had free range of the area around their barn.  They could go right to the water's edge to drink and had all sorts of goodies to munch in the woods.  During the late summer, the Beautyberry would start to turn their lovely shades of violet and the chickens would go crazy!  You could see them jumping up to peck at the berries after the lower limbs were stripped.  I never knew chickens could jump so high!  I loved our chickens and was happy that Pop let my brother and me feed them each day.  To get to the barn, we had to cross a single plank wide "bridge" that Pop had made across the pond.  If it was a particular rainy season, the ends of the bridge would slope down into the water.  We would wade through several feet of the murky pond water to get up on that plank to cross.  Then wade through several more feet to get to dry ground.  This did not bother Jimmy nor me as we loved playing in the water!  Neither he nor I was in school yet so we were rather young to be trotting around but nonetheless, it was our chore and we enjoyed it.  We loved those chickens!  (Not to mention..we sort of felt "grown up" being able to cross the pond by ourselves!)

One day after a heavy rain, we waded through the pond, crossed the bridge, waded again to get to the barn.  There we fed our chickens and picked the eggs.  We had picked so many eggs that we filled two large buckets!  This was a lot for two small kids to tote without breaking but we managed to get them to the middle of the bridge.  Then..then we were terrified!  On the plank sloping down into the water was a huge moccasin!  It had evidently been washed from its hiding place and was seeking dryer ground.  Our first thought was to turn around and walk all away around the pond.  Bad idea!  On the other side of the bridge..the same thing!  Another large snake had perched itself on the other ramp.  We were trapped!  Two tykes trapped on a bridge about twenty feet long!  Trapped on a bridge that was nigh under water!  Not knowing what to do, we huddled in the middle of that plank for what seemed like hours!  Soon, other snakes were crawling up on the boards and we had no where to run!  What to do, what to do????  Jimmy, being the older by a year, was far the wiser!  He came up with a plan!  He was my hero!! We discussed the matter and decided that even though we were not supposed to break any of the eggs, we would throw them at the snakes!  Brilliant!  I sure was happy my big brother was with me!  He chunked the first egg at the large moccasin.  Nothing!  The snake did nothing!!!  He threw another..harder this time!  The egg bonked the snake right on the noggin!  Yep! That snake was not happy!  He slithered off into the water!  Uh, oh!  He was coming closer to us!! (Did I mention that the bridge was only about six inches above the high water?)  Not good!  Time for Plan B!  Yell!!!!  And yell, we did!  We screamed for Pop to come get the snakes!  Thank goodness Mom was out hanging clothes and heard our commotion!   She and Pop came running!  Pop shooed the snakes away and rescued his two chickens...errr..kids! And to think...we did not get a switchin' for breaking a dozen or so eggs!  After that episode, we took long sticks with us on our journey to the hen house!

It is funny how the Beautyberries jogged that memory!  I guess things are stowed in the backs of our brains and it takes some small trigger to make them come shooting to life again!  My work, today, was finished with a grin on my face!  Geez, how I love walking down memory lane!

A New Look at Beautyberry!

Ahh..Beautyberry..that wonderful bush that grows wild everywhere on the Coast! I have always loved this little bush and try to leave as many as possible in my yard. The purple wads of berries on each stem bring back memories of growing up on the farm..our chickens loved eating these berries. It always tickled me to see the fat hens jumping up and down to reach the higher berries until one would get the bright idea of flying onto a branch. The slender branches would not support the weight of the chubby chicken and both the branch and the bird would fall to the ground. This would cause a flurry of activity as all the others would rush in to eat as many berries as they could before the branch would straighten again. I can also remember picking these same branches to put in buckets with the Ditch Daisies (aka wild Black-eyed Susans) to use as decorations for the Halloween Carnivals held at the local elementary school. (None of those cheap paper cut-outs for our carnivals! Real cornstalks, daisies, Beautyberries and scarecrows from the fields decorated the booths! But that is another post!) Now, I just love the bright purple berries as an ornament in my yard..not quite..it is not as simple as that! I have found another use for this old favorite! Recently, it was brought to my attention that the leaves of this very same plant can be used as an effective mosquito repellent! WooHoo! I now adore this bush! Who would have imagined that??? Even better..these same leaves when rubbed on your shoes and pant legs will repel deer ticks..those nasty things that might give you a not-so-lovely gift..Lyme Disease. PLUS! Fireants can be repelled by using the oils distilled from the leaves! Ok..so face it..I live in South Mississippi..a plant that will repel mosquitoes, deer ticks and fireants??..a dream come true for sure! And there are some people that will tell you that the berries make wonderful jelly..this I cannot say as I have never even tried to eat any. Still I think this plant is amazing! If there ever was a "multi-purpose" bush this is it! American Beautyberry.. the Gerber or Leatherman tool of the plant world!

Oh, I just had to show you this picture. As I was cutting grass today, I noticed several nice large mushrooms growing near the Grapefruit tree. Perched on top of one was one of my least favorite critters found near the Bayou..the Lubber Grasshopper. He so reminded me of something out of "Alice and Wonderland" that he won a reprieve and was allowed to continue sitting there undisturbed. Tomorrow, I will probably find he has eaten one of my prized lilies and I will regret not ridding my yard of his presence!