My husband, Roger, and my son, Nicholas, share no blood. My marriage to Roger is my second and he is Nicholas' Step-Dad. They came together when Nicholas was 4 years old, and they get along together now about as well as any adult male and 13-year old male possibly could living in the same house.Nicholas and Roger like so many of the same things that I often forget they don't come from the same line of people. They both love animals, particularly horses. Both Nic and Roger are collectors. (I jokingly call them hoarders though it's not really that bad.) I guess, though, the thing they relate to each other best about is their love of anything that grows from the Earth.
I have to admit that while I am a tree lover, I've never particularly enjoyed planting things and watching them grow. With the exception of a corn plant that I have kept alive for more than 10 years, I've really never been successful with plants. And flower beds... no thank you. I am quick to tell you that I enjoy watching the grass grow right up to the edge of the house.
When Roger and I married, it was an adjustment for me to be with someone who loves plants so much. We would be driving down any lonesome road in any sleepy town and he might say, "Pull over." Next thing I know, he's out of the car, talking to a lady working in her yard and he's back with clippings galore to plant in the yard. My yard looks infinitely better for his fascination with plants, and I am grateful that I'm not the one who has to plant them and make them grow.
Each year, Nicholas plants a watermelon patch, and sells the watermelons for extra summer cash. This past year, he planted strawberries, carrots, garlic, and onions in the boxes in the backyard. I don't even KNOW what all he and Roger have growing in the hot house out back.
Both Roger and Nicholas particularly love fruit trees. They enjoy growing the trees, picking the fruit, and, of course, eating the fruit. Nicholas' dog, Lacey, even enjoys eating the fruit they grow. It didn't surprise me, therefore, when Nicholas quickly spotted fruit today that he had never seen.
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in Mississippi so we decided to take a drive down south on the Natchez Trace. The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile drive through exceptional scenery and 10,000 years of North American history. Used by American Indians, "Kaintucks", settlers, and future presidents, the Old Trace played an important role in American history. (http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm)
One of our favorite things to do as a family is to drive the Trace stopping at the sights along the way. There are some terrific wooded trails to walk down and each stop gives you some history of the area which we enjoy reading. One of our favorite places is Cypress Swamp. There is a beautiful wooden walkway right through the swamp. The cypress trees growing out of the swamp will take your breathe away. We never tire of walking through this serene place that reminds you there are things that last for hundreds of years.
But today, we decided to go South. One of our first stops was Cowles Mead Cemetery. Cowles Mead owned a tavern on the Old Trace near Natchez in the 1800s. After moving closer to Jackson, he built a beautiful home called "Greenwood" close to where we stopped. The only thing that remains of his home place is a tiny family cemetery. As we followed the trail back to the cemetery, Nicholas spotted some fruit that he didn't recognize. He asked Roger about it and Roger said they always called them "horse apples."
When Nicholas brought one of these horse apples to show me, I realized I had never seen them before. They are round, and about the same color as a green apple, but they are bumpy on the outside. The bumps make a very interesting pattern. They look a bit like a round, green brain. After we finished the walk back to the cemetery, we stopped at the car and did some quick research to see what we could find about horse apples. (Googling from your smart phone while standing in at a historic site from the 1800s really makes you appreciate technology.)
It didn't take us long to learn that these horse apples are quite the interesting fruit. For one thing, there are male and female flowers on different plants. Before today, I didn't even realize there was such a thing, but Roger explained it's more common than I thought.
What we call a horse apple is better known as a hedge apple. Hedge apple is the fruit of the Osage Orange tree. The name hedge apple derives from the fact that early settlers used the tree as a hedge plant on their farms to create fencing for their fields.
In addition to horse apple and hedge apple the fruit is also called hedge ball, monkey balls and mock orange. To make matters more confusing, the fruit is neither an orange nor an apple. The plant is most closely related to a mulberry. Wikipedia says, "The fruit has a pleasant and mild odor, but is inedible for the most part. Although it is not strongly poisonous, eating it may cause vomiting. However, the seeds of the fruit are edible" Our research showed the smell of the fruit to be compared to an orange, but Nicholas and I both agreed that it smells more like a pear.
The wood of the Osage Orange tree is popular for making primitive bows. When we mentioned to Roger that one website (http://hedgeapple.com/) says it "has the highest strength for primitive bows used in archery." He was surprised because he understood that designation to belong to the Bodark tree. So, we were not at all surprised to find out that the Osage Orange tree is also known as Bodark.
We were most intrigued with the fact that hedge apples act as a repellant to insects, including mosquitos and spiders. Supposedly, the fruit will keep 2 to 3 months inside and will keep all insects away. Nicholas took one to his room tonight to test the theory on the mosquitos that have recently been invading his room at night. We'll see how that goes.
All this walking and research made us hungry so we dropped off the Trace to find something for lunch. It wasn't long before we saw the Old Country Store at Lorman off to our right on Highway 61. I've always heard about the place, but never visited so we decided to give it a try. Fascinating to see the history in the old building, with its wooden porch and antiques and knick knacks lining the walls. A very good description, with pictures can be found in this post: http://www.cynicalcook.com/2009/06/old-country-store-lorman-ms.html.
As we walked in, the owner, Mr. D (Arthur Davis) was serenading the customers. It surprised me at first, but Mr. D was so obviously enjoying himself, we couldn't help but smile along with him. If you want a "taste" Mr D's singing, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlljb2DnrLI.
The buffet lunch was good and the peach cobbler at the end was great! It was the perfect ending to a beautiful day.
Here is an old-fashioned peach cobbler recipe that you can make at home, but be sure to eat it "Mr. D-style" with vanilla ice cream on top!
Quick and Easy Peach Cobbler
1 cup self-rising flour1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2 cups sliced fresh Georgia peaches
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together flour, sugar and milk. Melt butter in microwave oven and pour into disposable baking pan. While butter is still hot, add batter and top with fresh peaches. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. If you can't get fresh or fresh frozen peaches, use 1 large can of peaches.
