On the Farm

October is cotton-picking time in eastern North Carolina I imagine this field is the most photographed cotton field in Eastern North Carolina! Every year, I get calls from folks who want to be photographed in a cotton field. I might be a little biased, but the cotton fields at Big Mill Bed and Breakfast Extended… Read more about growing cotton

Crispy, sweet, and lightly salted, these honey-roasted pecans are the ultimate Southern snack and so easy to make. Perfect for holiday parties, hostess gifts, or everyday cravings, this easy recipe delivers big flavor with just a few simple ingredients. Made with fresh pecans, golden honey, and a touch of sea salt, they roast to a… Read more

My faithful purple martins have left the farm.    Where did you go? The silence is awful – their chatter was so soothing. Now they are gone. They have started their long journey south. They don’t head straight to South America. They “hole up” for several weeks in places just south of here like Mann’s… Click to follow the Purple Martins

We try to keep up with all the tech changes – it keeps us busy. I was on the waiting list for Starlink for 15 months, so when they wrote and said, “Yea or Nay?” I said “YES!” So far, so good. For those of you asking, “What is Starlink?” it is Elon Musk’s Satellite… Click to see how fun the Starlink is on the Farm

All Good Southern Cooks Have a Sweet Pickle Relish Recipe We don’t buy the relish, we make it ourselves from old family recipes. Each family has its own recipe; some add peppers and onions. I like the simple one.  Often we just chop up last year’s sweet cucumber pickles. Sweet Pickle Relish is a main… You just can’t make southern chicken salad without Sweet Pickle Relish. This recipe is the best!

Every farm and definitely every farm girl needs an old red truck. Somebody must agree because photos of old red trucks are everywhere – on fancy dishes, Christmas decorations, everywhere you look. One Christmas I parked my Old Red Truck in front of the Pack House and decorated it with a Christmas tree and wreath… Click here to see all olf Old Red Truck’s portraits

When you see that beautiful full moon in May – know that it is a Flower Moon. It occurs at the time in spring when flowers pop up everywhere. David Grann writes on page one in his book Killers of the Flower Moon, “In April, millions of tiny flowers spread over the blackjack hills and… click to read about the Flower Killing Moon in eastern North Carolina

Picking peanuts reminds me of growing up in eastern North Carolina. My nephew Barney and I loved to play hide-and-seek in the peanut fields. Back then, the peanuts were dug and stacked on poles to dry. There is a certain earthy smell that is everywhere. We loved to hide behind these stacks and to climb… Click to see video of Peanuts being Picked

Young, just-dug peanuts are called green peanuts. Here in the South, we boil these peanuts in the shell with a lot of salt.  In late August or early September, you can find these green or boiled peanuts at farm stands and some grocery stores like Piggly Wiggly. As the Georgia bumper sticker says, “It is… Click to learn more about Boiled Peanuts