This time I was not remembering long ago, looking through boxes and such. This time I went to the freezer in the garage, hoping to start using its contents. There were soup-making items, fruit juice and quince pulp for jellies, sandwich meat, and such.
And what did I find? It was the ham bone I had completely forgotten. When company was coming I bought a whole half of a spiral cut ham. When the slices became smaller I wrapped it and put it away.
As you readers get older, you, too, may stop when a surprise comes and you are thinking about long ago. What would Mama have done with ham bones and trimmings?
When I was young, all pork products had been consumed by this time of the year. They would be waiting for a good spell of cold weather for hog-killing time.
This is now, and my steps are different. There was enough cut off for sandwiches, bits to season green beans. Lots remained. It went into a wide sauce pan to simmer. More meat loosened and good broth was great for cooking. That made liquid for soaking and cooking lentil beans. There is some left to use in gravy after I fry larger ham slices when company comes.
As I slowly placed the bones in the trash, I thought, long ago we would have given them to the dogs. That is a “no-no” now, but I’ll bet real country folks still do.
I think about this finding and smile, wondering how this surprise brought about all these memories. Some of the musings were how folks long ago could not have imagined that a bought, cooked, spiral-sliced half ham would come to their house, ready to serve.
Country folks’ smoked and preserved pork had been eaten long before fall. Now they would be waiting for a real cold spell and hog-killing weather. This might be later in October.
I remember those freezing mornings well when we would wake to prepare for school.
There was laughter and talking, men standing around the wash pot filled with scalding water from the fire blazing around it.
That was hog-killing morning. Everyone would have a busy day.
That will be a story many of you older ones who lived in the country will remember. All this and much more has been with me since I came across that meaty ham bone in the freezer.
I mentioned cooking lentil beans with some of the meat. This small green seed cooks much quicker than red beans, black-eyed peas and such. It is one of the best sources of protein and fiber is low-calorie and easy to make into a tasty cream soup.
The picture of the lovely yellow flower among the periwinkles in last week’s paper continues to be a mystery. Later there were two blossoms, both falling off, then another.
I had been noticing a strange vine on nearby soil, no signs of any flowers on it. I was tempted to try to pull it up but could not manage the feat.
The leaves on the yellow one are a nice, irregular triangular shape. Again I traced its growth down toward the soil and noted the stem becomes sturdier. The leaves have five points, quite different texture and larger. This has piqued even more interest.
Several of you have called, offering suggestions and to tell your experiences. Thanks. I hope some of the flowers make seed pods.
The new growth has even become two vines. Those tendrils are holding fast to other nearby greenery. Who knows what I will be able to tell next week? We’ll keep watching.
