Columns

There are several very important historical events that took place during the Christmas Season. Of course the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was the most important and the “Reason for the Season”. But on December 21, 1620, the first landing party of Pilgrims came ashore in Massachusetts at the place they named Plymouth. There they founded the second successful English settlement in America. The first settlement was at Jamestown,

Pregnancy Management Strategies of Beef Cattle Producers Beef cattle production plays a vital role in Louisiana agriculture, contributing an estimated 408 million dollars to the economy of the state of Louisiana annually according to 2020 LSU Ag-Center statistics. In 2023, beef cattle production had a total gross farm value of 640 million dollars and was ranked as Louisiana’s 2nd largest animal agriculture commodity according to the 2023 Louisiana Ag Summary. Louisiana is primarily a cow-calf state with most cattle being sold at weights under 700 lbs. at the time of weaning.

During the Civil War there were spies on both sides in the North and the South. It has never been determined exactly why they risked their lives to spy on a certain side. Women were the most successful spies and today’s article is about a woman form New Orleans who spied for the Union. She was known as “Crazy Lou”, Lou Arness that is, who was from a wealthy family that had actually owned slaves but like many southern slave owners they were being given their freedom even before the war began.

During the war Lou’s home became a hiding place for escaping Union prisoners and runaway slaves. They were housed in the attic with a secret trap door for them to come out at night. Many of them were able to escape to freedom. Horses were confiscated by the freed slaves and convicts. Of course, both Union and Confederates went through town and the countryside looking for horses that were stolen.

Want to grow citrus trees? Make sure to plant when the time is right for your location Citrus trees are abundant at retail garden centers during fall and early winter. They make beautiful holiday gifts, and they are one of the most popular types of fruit to grow in Louisiana home gardens. However, our occasional — but exceptionally cold — arctic air blasts can make success with these tropical and subtropical trees a bit tricky.

Because citrus trees are sensitive to the cold, special care is needed when choosing cultivars to grow and when deciding whether to plant them in the ground or in containers.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about the best times and strategies for planting citrus. Our advice? It’s all about location, location, location — and even within Louisiana, recommendations vary by region.

Green Pea Salad

I just love this time of year with the leaves all turning and the evenings getting cooler. The first frost of the year is exciting and knowing that it will deal with most of our mosquito population is just an added benefit. By now almost everyone has done the last lawn mow and is anticipating the beginning of leaf raking. I’ve always kinda enjoyed raking leaves because it is good exercise for the arms and shoulders and my inner “firebug” likes burning the piles up, too.

The black and orange of Halloween has been traded in for the gold, orange, reds and browns of Thanksgiving and all the grocery stores had their turkeys out. I did all the usual Thanksgiving favorites and this year I thought I might add a different dish – Green Pea Salad. We had our church holiday meal last weekend and several of the ladies brought this dish. I had forgotten how good it was and decided to make up some myself.

Let’s get into it!

Let’s get shakin!!! This week I’ve seen a meme (little Facebook quote) going around and saw so many people sharing it, about how so many holiday traditions have slowly faded out and died as we have slowly buried the older family members that kept them alive.

I love the holidays (or used to) I still enjoy the lights, the winter nights by a fire, friends, and all the things I used to, the season of love, reflection, family, and the spirit of the season. But for me, like so many of you it’s just not the same, it’s often a reminder of those that are no longer here, and the traditions and meaning they took with them. All of us have different traditions and things we do during the holidays but if you are above and beyond your 20’s one thing we all have in common is things are probably different.

History has been made by the citizens of yesteryear. It is the feeling of this writer that these people should be remembered and appreciated. The main character of this article is such a person and his name is Henry Adams who claimed DeSoto Parish as his home although he was born in Newton, Georgia of slave parents. They were sold to a DeSoto planter in 1850 when Henry was seven years old. As slaves were sold they usually took on the name of the new owners just as women usually take on the last name of the man they are marrying.

Henry grew to manhood on this plantation and was treated well by the owners. His aptitude for learning was evident and he was taught to read and write. In addition, he learned how to get along with both whites and blacks. He married a young lady named Malinda and they had four children — Lucy, Rena, Josephine and Henry, Jr. They acquired property, horses, a fine buggy and some money. It was evident that Henry had ambition as well as ability.

A Brussels Sprout Affront

We all know people who just hate mushrooms (they taste musty) or onions (too strong) or pickles (they’re vinegary) and a LOT of people really can’t stand Brussels Sprouts. Those little unassuming baby cabbage looking vegetables that our Mothers always told us we had to “at least try”. Someone posted on Facebook a pretty good looking picture of some covered in cheese sauce and asked, “Does anyone actually EAT these?”

My answer is YES! I do and have a real good sounding recipe for them. Wait, wait I know you’re getting ready skip to another portion of the paper but hear me out. The Title of the recipe is actually the four ingredients that go into it “Olive Oil toasted Brussels Sprouts with Alfredo Gruyere’ Sauce” so I don’t have to bother you with the actual recipe. I thought that they sounded good paired up with a Shrimp Scampi or Broiled Snapper main so I thawed out a handful of Sprouts in preparation for the Friday night dinner.

Thanksgiving. What began as a celebration of a large harvest with the Pilgrams, slowly evolved into a national holiday which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November. And as most things do, it becomes so familiar, we often forget the true meaning of what it stands for. Giving thanks.

As with the holiday, our lives have evolved from a slower pace, where we had time to sit on the front porch and visit with our neighbors and spend more time with friends and family, to fast-paced, driven lives that don’t allow us much time to even think, much less take the time to be grateful.

With the Thanksgiving holiday headed our way, our minds and hearts are filled with gratitude for so many things. But did you know Thanksgiving wasn’t always in November? Prior to President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation that the holiday become an annual event in November, Thanksgiving Day varied by state and were sometimes held earlier in the year. We can also thank Sarah Josepha Hale, the same woman who wrote Mary Had a Little Lamb for campaigning for 17 years to even make Thanksgiving a national holiday.

Here are a few other things you may not have known about Thanksgiving: TV Dinners Were Invented Because of Thanksgiving — In 1953, Swanson overestimated the demand for turkey and had 260 tons of extra frozen birds. To avoid wasting them, the company sliced the turkey and packaged it with sides, giving birth to the TV dinner!