Faith, Folklore, and Friends

The tradition of eating certain food on New Year's day in order to bring health, wealth, and all good things in the new year is old. So old, in fact, that no one can really pinpoint when it started. The food varies greatly depending on what part of the world you live in. One explanation for the South, that is just as good as any to me, is that during the Civil War, the northern soldiers had not been taught about the goodness of garden greens. It is told that when the soldiers passed through and took all the food, they left the greens and the black-eyed peas, finding them undesirable. The people who stayed ate what was left. Probably a more accurate scenario is that greens will grow all winter here except during the coldest winters, and cooks wanted something fresh to prepare for the New Year's holiday. Who knows? This New Year's day, we made the collards a little different than usual. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Grandma's or Paula Deen...

  Here's a look at the fall garden.  Above is the abundant turnip greens.  I haven't cooked any yet, but they are ready.  I love smelling them as I walk through the garden.   The kale is looking good, too.       The collard greens look a little scrawny, but we never eat them until after frost anyway.  Frost just makes them better. The radishes are almost big enough to eat.  This one is having a hard time against that rock.   The cucumbers are blooming and have little ones.  These came up from seed from the spring cucumbers.     I was so happy to see these little sprouts of green.  We transplanted this pink weigela bush and all the leaves died and I thought we had killed the bush for sure.  It looks like it is going to be alright.   Yesterday was such a great day to work outside.  I am so in love with October.