Working on the cane gang.

One of the ongoing crafts here at the Plantation Camp Ground is learning the old art of chair caning. Cane in a natural product cut by machine from the outer bark of Rattan, a jungle vine that grows in Borneo, Sumatra and Malaysia. The same company that supplies cane also carries basket weaving materials. They have been in business since 1934.

Our friends Bob and Barb have taught caning for a couple of years now. Bob learned from his mother and spends his summer repairing a steady stream of chairs. Luckily for me Bob usually brings several chairs with them and I was able to learn on a very pretty one. Last year a number of chairs were caned then sold at auction raising about $1800 for the Escapee Care Center in Livingston Texas. The same is planned this year with the hope of breaking $2000.
Since I am still a novice at caning, there is no point in trying to explain more so a few pictures should help.

This is typical of a chair in need. Someone probably stood on it.

This is the chair I was given to learn on.

The caning material before soaking in water. Water makes it pliable.

The first step.

Me, hard at it.

Many steps later,almost finished

Detail.

Cane field

I really did do this chair. I may even do another one.

Trip to Bellingrath

A few weeks ago we went on an bus excursion to the old (old by North American standards) Bellingrath Estate on the south side of Mobile. We left about 3 in the afternoon because the trip's objective was to view the extensive Christmas light display, not the famous gardens where they are situated. My words won't do it justice so once again I'll put in some pictures.

The lights got better as darkness fell.

This pond was originally a mud hole.

The lights on this one flowed making it look like a fountain.

Most of the lights were flickering or flashing and dancing.

The Bellingraths made their fortune producing and bottling Coca Cola in the early 1900's. They purchased the property about 1930 and by 1935 were welcoming the public to view the flowers. Walter Bellingrath established a trust fund to keep the gardens open, and the rest is history.

We finished the evening at a nearby seafood restaurant.

We wish you all a blessed Christmas and a happy healthy New Year.

Carolyn and I will be attending St.Paul's Episcopal church in Foley tonight and you will be in our prayers.  

Just a Cotton picin minute.

Ever since we moved to Hastings, we have lived with and come to respect the men and women who farm the land. All around lower Alabama, cotton fields are common. At this time of year, many are already harvested, but not all. We let it be known amongst our friends here that we would like to see a cotton field being picked. Last Saturday, Al Kinney stopped by our trailer to tell us he had just seen the big machines in action not far away from us. Carolyn and I jumped in the truck and soon had stopped by the side of the road and were watching these 3 large, noisy machines moving quickly up and down the rows of cotton. There were other machines in the field as well. Unfortunately, I don't know the names of any of the equipment so I will just try to explain what they were doing. I hope the pictures will help.

Here you can see the 3 harvesting machines in a sea of white!

Raw cotton gets dumped into the compacting unit.

Those yellow upright posts move up and down compacting the cotton.

Raw cotton. The black spots are seeds.

Carolyn got a running commentary.

My view from the harvester.

Me on the balcony.

The product of the compacter, a modular awaiting pickup.

After the harvesting machines had made several passes through the field they were met by another machine that looked like a big motorized basket. The harvested cotton was transferred to the basket and it in turn moved to the edge of the field and transferred the white balls of raw cotton to another piece of equipment that compacts them into a large bail we learned later is called a modular. We watched this noisy and dusty operation for several minutes then started back to our truck. One of the harvesting machines was coming straight toward us so we stopped and waited til it passed only it didn't pass. The operator stopped, turned off the engine and asked if we would like a ride. It didn't take us long to climb up to the cab where Carolyn got to ride inside while I rode on the veranda like area beside the cab. I had to hang on with one hand while I took pictures with the other. The farmer gave Carolyn a running commentary as we went to the other end of the field and back. He is the owner of the field and says he likes to show people around. He asked if we were farmers too. He also mentioned he gets three crops a year, rotating between cotton, oats or hay and peanuts. Also he doesn't till the soil between crops, just harvests then plants the next one. 

This all happened about 3 weeks ago, but the internet connection is so slow at our park I had to send from the Foley public library. Here there is a real WiFi connection and it's free.

If we don't get to you again before Christmas, have the best one you've ever had.