My father was the oldest of 14 children of which 13 survived childbirth
(order: 8 boys, 2 girls, twin boy & girl, and a final girl).
Dad often told me that his parents took one look at him and ordered
another dozen, but when I mentioned this "fact" to one of his sisters a few
years ago, she said he had it all wrong: "They took one look at him
and decided to keep on trying until they got it right!" FWIW, my
youngest aunt, whom my dad called a "distant relation", was born less than
a year before I was. She died in a nursing home of Covid-19 in August,
2020. One uncle is still (29Aug'20) alive.
Many years ago, Dad's second sibling, Norvie Washington Calhoun (but always
called "Boab") gave me an ear of tall open-pollinated (non-hybrid)
field corn. When I planted it, the stalks were over 13 feet high!
Unfortunately, I don't know its name, although someone told me I should call
it "Gigantic"!
During the summer of 2008, Uncle Boab was in poor health (he died that August),
so I asked my sister, who lived near him, to take her laptop to the hospital
and show him the following. I have not modified any of the descriptions
since then, but, in case you are curious, "Myron" is me, "Nancy" is my wife,
and "Edith" is our daughter.
Boab's "Gigantic" field corn is directly behind Myron, while the
shorter corn on either side is sweet corn whose ears have already
been harvested. (I pulled the stalks right after Nancy took
the picture.) Directly between Myron and the camera is a row of
tomatoes in circular wire "stakes". The pine trees in the background
are part of the windbreak around the house and garden, and the occasional
brown spots in the trees are limbs broken by the really-bad hail and
windstorm we had several weeks ago.
They're not ready yet, but those ears are gonna be difficult to harvest.
May have to chop the stalks down with an axe beforehand!-)
Incidentally, if Boab comments on growing two different kinds of corn
so close together, tell him they flower/pollinate at entirely different
times, so "no problem". The non-pine trees in the background are
wildlife-attracting plums and are also part of the windbreak.
The big windmill is an Aermotor which does have a wellpit beneath it, but
there's an electric pump in the wellpit, and the windmill's downrod isn't
connected to anything. The little windmill makes noise to keep the
moles from tunneling in the garden. More staked tomatoes behind
the little windmill, melons between Myron and the camera, and some
already-pulled cornstalks on the ground behind Myron.
Still another view of Boab's corn, with pumpkins(?) in the foreground?
Garden west of the corn rows. Melons and pumpkin(?) between
Myron and the camera. Some more staked tomatoes near Myron, beans
in front of him, and Nancy's flower garden between Myron and the garage.
Little stone shed between the garage and the house. The
wire/cable hanging from the pole directly behind the little windmill's
blade is part of my HAM (amateur radio) setup, and the taller/dense/green
stuff about 10-15 feet to Myron's right is a hill of miniature corn.
To Myron's left (but out of the picture) is another hill
of miniature corn of a different color. (I found the ears in a
decorative display at Edith's house and she let me have a couple to see
if they would grow. The obviously did!)
Garden east of the corn rows. Row of staked tomatoes between
Myron and the corn. Squash(?) in the foreground.
This picture may be of no interest to Boab, but Nancy likes to take
pictures of flowers!
Six boxes preserve our freedoms: cash, soap, ballot,
witness, jury, & cartridge
Barbershop Tenor and Life member of SPPBSQSUS
Amateur Radio Operator (WØPBV)
Life Member of both the NRA and GOA
This page was last modified on Sunday, 14 April, 2024.