Stolen Nests and Pine Knots

To amuse ourselves on sunny Sunday afternoons, we would walk in the woods. It was cheap, fun, and we actually learned some things. It also spent a lot of energy that would have otherwise been used for fussing and fighting.

We always had free-range chickens, and some would go into the woods and make a nest when they got in a setting mood. We always looked for nests, and now that I am mature, I suspect that is why Mama wanted to go for a walk in the first place. If we found one, we would keep an eye on it and as soon as the little chicks hatched, they would be moved to a safer place.

The woods were full of various wildflowers and herbs. Mayapple is one of the first to appear in the spring, and Mama would point to it and tell us how that during the depression, she and her siblings would dig the roots and carry them to town in a burlap sack. The druggist there would give them a few cents for the roots and their work. There was always sassafras and sometimes some elderberry bushes. At that time, blackberries were abundant in the bottoms near the creek.

Pine knots were another treasure we always looked for. In some areas, they were called heart pine, fat knots, lighter knots, or just lighters. When a pine tree dies, its sap settles into the heartwood of the branches and trunk, making knots. Having small pieces of pine knot was like pouring lighter fluid on the grill; it made the fire burn quicker and faster. Pine knots were easy to identify; they had a distinctive smell that I can still recognize immediately, although more than half a century has passed since I hunted it in the woods. On a good day, all of us would have some much desired pine to carry home.

I don't recall ever seeing snakes on these walks, but we brought plenty of chiggers and ticks home with us. Some times our hands were blue from picking wild huckleberries or blackberries. Other times, we might have some pine cones, persimmons, or hickernuts (hickory nuts for the uninformed). The most important things gleaned from these walks were fresh air, exercise, time for thinking and relaxing, and memories that have endured.

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. ~Psalm 121:1-2

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