Discovering Jackson County

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Edible "Weeds" in Jackson County

Watercress is used most often as a peppery garnish and salad component, but it also has been touted as a health food and a medicine. Long used to stave off scurvy for its high vitamin C content, watercress may also help inhibit tobacco-related cancers and other lung diseases. In addition to vitamin C, the plant is rich in vitamins A, B, and E and also contains both calcium and iron. Considered a traditional Southern treat, watercress is used in sauces, sandwiches, soups, salads, stuffing, breads, vegetables, and main dishes. - See more at: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1812#sthash.s4pml9gM.dpuf

I recently watched a video about foraging for food and it got me to thinking about what kinds of foods I could find in my own backyard, or in close proximity to it anyways. Here are a few things you can find in wild right here in Jackson County.

A Mess of Poke

…Poke Salad…Pokeweed…or just plain old Poke.

I can remember my mom going out to gather “a mess of Poke salad”, but I’ve never eaten it. I was able to find it in abundance.

Here are some fun facts about poke salad:

Poke Salad is edible when cooked. Leaves of young plants may be used as a substitute for greens and spinach and the young shoots (boiled in two changes of water) taste like asparagus.

It was used by some Native Americans as a witchcraft medicine because they believed it expelled bad spirits. ( Because eaten raw it causes diarrhea and vomiting)

Native Americans also used the red dye from poke berries for painting.

Rootstock can be used as a soap substitute

Here is recipe from the Smithsonian Folklife Cookbook

(found at http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2015/04/poke-sallet-a-great-southern-springtime-tradition-and-yummy-too-3001122.html)

Poke Salad

4 quarts young tender poke shoots or 2 cans poke salad greens
1/4 cup bacon drippings
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs

Wash poke shoots well. Place in a large kettle with water to cover and bring to a boil. Drain. Cover again with water, bring to a boil, and cook for another 20 minutes. Drain well.

Place in a cast-iron frying pan with bacon drippings and salt. Cook at medium heat for 30 minutes.

Add eggs and stir until eggs are done, Serve with corn bread and green onions.

(THIS PLANT IS POISONOUS IF NOT PREPARED PROPERLY)

Watercress

Watercress grows in creeks, springs and damp areas. It can be used in salad. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by humans. It is rich in vitamin C and was once used to treat scurvy.

Here is a good article about watercress production in Alabama.

And here is a link to some watercress recipes.

Cattails

Cattails can be found in marshy places...often in ditches and around ponds. The uses for a cattail are MANY.

The young cob-like tips of the plant are edible as is the white bottom of the stalk,
spurs off the main roots and spaghetti like rootlets off the main roots.

They have vitamins A, B,Cattail lower stalks and C, potassium and phosphorus. The pollen can be used like flour. -eattheweeds.com

Here is a VERY useful article about this local plant.

Wild Blackberries

These can be found in fields and roadsides and lots of places, I'm sure. ( I wouldn't eat them off the roadside because sometimes chemicals are sprayed in ditches to kill weeds and nobody needs that)

These are smaller than the ones you can buy at the store. I think they taste better because they don't have huge, gritty seeds.

I picked some of these and my mom made a blackberry cobbler with them!

Here is a recipe...doesn't look as good as mamas.

Maypops

These have the COOLEST purple flower...this is not a very good photo, but it rained on the poor things all day.

They are often called passion flowers, and their leaves can be used to make a tea that cures insomnia.

I found out this weekend that they also grow little green melon like fruits that you can eat ( or step on to make them POP).

I tried to pull one up so I could root it and grow it in the yard, but I'm not sure if it will work.

Here is a good article about Maypops.

Have you ever eaten any of these wild things?
What are some other forageable weeds in Jackson County?

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Float the Paint Rock River

Paint Rock Valley is one of the most, if not the most, gorgeous and serene places in Jackson County. The mountains and farm fields alone are enough to give it that title, but its famous river is icing on the cake.

If you have access to a kayak, canoe or even flat bottom boat you must explore the Paint Rock River.

Here are a few tips for your trip ( from my very limited -one day-) experience:

1.Ask around for the best place to put in your kayak. We weren't sure of a good place to leave our vehicle so we had someone drive up pretty far in the valley and drop us off on the side of the road/river. Make a plan for where and when they will pick you back up. We chose a little pull off in the middle of all the curves on 65.

2. If snakes absolutely terrify you in general, kayaking here may not be for you. Very shortly after we put in the water my kayak ran aground into a bed of four snakes. The snakes didn't bother us at all thankfully. I think they were just water snakes and not venomous.

3. If you plan on bringing your cell phone/camera/other things you don't want to get wet get a waterproof box, or double ziplic bag your stuff and put it in a secure place in case you flip your kayak.

4. Wear sunscreen! There are a lot of shady spots...but just as many sunny spots!

5. Going back to number one... cell phone service is sketchy on the river. So be prepared to be without service.

6. It is always wise to bring a snack/lunch and water on such excursions. We didn't and were starving by the time we finished.

I'm sure there are numerous other tips, but I am no expert.

Aside from the snakes, we saw a baby turtle swimming in the water lots of fish, deer, ducks and beautiful clear water.

Even if you don't have a kayak or canoe, the Paint Rock River would make a great day trip for fishing, skipping rocks and wading!

It was the hottest day of August
All of us were down by the banks of the Paint Rock River
I was next in line to be baptized at the innocent age of ten
And Ill never forget, I remember it yet, the taste of that clear, pure water
And that preachers words still fill my head and I hear them now and then...
-Curly Putman

Friday, April 10, 2015

Visit Walls of Jericho in the Spring

The Walls of Jericho, or The Grand Canyon of the South as some call it, truly is one of the most breath taking things you will ever come across in Jackson County.

Spring is a wonderful time of year to make the 7 mile hike for several reasons, but the most important are that the abundance of rain makes the waterfalls very heavy and the mild temperatures will make the strenuous hike a little easier to cope with.

I went over spring break and things were just lovely.

Click Here for a map of the Trailhead.

Here are some interesting tidbits I found on

Nature.org:

In Alabama: Alabama’s Forever Wild Program purchased the 12,500-acre Alabama section of the property from The Nature Conservancy. It is now known as the Skyline Wildlife Management Area and is open for public access. The protected area encompasses the headwaters of the globally significant Paint Rock River.

In Tennessee: In 2006, The Nature Conservancy also transferred the 8,900-acre Tennessee tract to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) to be the Bear Hollow Mountain Wildlife Management Area. The State Natural Areas Program of the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation co-manages 750 acres of the Walls of Jericho and its surrounding creek basin within the Bear Hollow Wildlife Management Area. The Walls of Jericho site is designated as a Tennessee State Natural Area. The entire 8,900-acre area is open for public access.

The Walls of Jericho area was originally owned by the Texas oil magnate Harry Lee Carter, who acquired 60,000 acres in Franklin County, Tenn., and Jackson County, Ala., in the 1940s.For years, up until 1977 when the Walls of Jericho were closed to the public, the Tennessee property had been open to the public for recreational use and managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Now this special place is once again open to the public.The Carter Lands region lies in the heart of the Southern Cumberlands and totals 60,000 acres.

Anyone in good health should take advantage of this local treasure, but it definitely is not for the faint of heart. The hike down is hard on your knees and the hike out his hard on everything!

Here are a few pointers if you decide to take the trip:

1. Give your self PLENTY OF DAY LIGHT. This is a long and strenuous hike, especially if you have never been before. The trail is marked with red paint, but it is easy to get lost if you are a beginning hiker. It is best to start early in the day, to ensure that you have plenty of time to find your way back out. There is NO cell service, so you should not depend on having the ability to call for help.

2. Bring a backpack:

- You will need PLENTY of water. One regular sized bottle will probably not be enough.

- Food. It's a long hike. Bring lunch and enjoy it while you rest at the walls.

- First aid kit. You are very liable to get blisters, so pack some band-aids.

- Flip flops, or sandals. There is a lot of water to wade in once you get to the walls, and it can be difficult to see the entire thing if you don't get your feet wet. It's bad for your feet to walk in wet socks, so just take off your shoes and enjoy the cool water.

- extra socks... just in case.

- a towel, to dry your feet.

-toilet paper...because sometimes you gotta go ( there is a portapotty in the parking lot... but the rest is just the good ol outdoors. )

-A Camera ( because it's pretty)

- Maybe I have watched too many episodes of Survivorman, but I always like to have a space blanket, a knife and some matches just in case.

3. Don't mess with the snakes. Yes, you may see a snake or two. Chances are if you don't bother them, they won't bother you.

4. Don't Litter.

5. Be careful when you wade through the water...the rocks are VERY slippery.

6. But the main thing is...give yourself plenty of time. The trip will probably take at least four hours (probably more), if you plan on lingering at the waterfalls.

Here are some photos from a few weeks ago... enjoy!

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Garry Morgan, The man behind "In-the-Boro"

Garry Morgan

If you have ever been to a meeting of the Jackson County Commission or the Scottsboro City Council, chances are you have seen Garry Morgan; he is always there. Week in and week out he shows up, video camera in hand. Garry is involved in his community, to say the least.

Morgan is a graduate from Baylor University and for 21 years he served his country in the United States Army. Following his military retirement, Morgan worked in medical administration. Through years of experience, his knowledge of medicine, sociology, race relations, equal opportunity and evaluation of risks became extensive, and because of his background he is astute to the problems in world around him. “If you don’t ask questions, if you don’t attempt to sit down and try to analyze problems and then resolve the problems, we’re not going to progress as a society. We’re not going to progress as a community,” he said.

Because of the way he expresses his concern about so many local aspects, Morgan says people have attempted in ways to “censor” him. If you follow various local Facebook groups you are sure to have noticed that his comments are almost never well received. He is often labeled “negative” and even kicked off of groups for the input he gives.

The following is an excerpt from a post Morgan made on the private Facebook Group page for Revive Scottsboro:

“Reality demonstrations a failure of vision and planning. Scottsboro has expanded its shopping areas outward, away from the downtown area. There have been several revitalization plans; but when you spend hundreds of millions on bypasses, service roads and property owners greed- then fail to stick to your basic downtown revitalization plans, Scottsboro today is what you get a picture of urban blight.”

This comment sparked an onset of debate about negativity, but Morgan’s intentions, he explains, are not to simply stir the pot. “People like to say ‘Oh, you’re being negative.’ Well, there is no negative or positive about it. I’m just stating the facts. This is what I am seeing as Garry Morgan in the community,” he said.

Ultimately Morgan was removed from the group for not following the rules about keeping comments positive. To that he said, “My goal here in Scottsboro is education, to fight this every way possible. To fight narrow minded thinking. I’m not going to follow the rules set up to discriminate, to not look at reality and to be delusional. No, I’m not going to follow those rules.”

“What I’m about is awareness, raising awareness and facilitating people to speak up not just to sit idly by, not just to go about your business because somebody tells you ‘hey, butt out.’ I don’t believe in that,” he said.

Before Facebook, however, there was AL.com and its infamous forums. Morgan used to post there on a regular basis, but noticed that many of his posts were being removed. Morgan learned that AL.com was receiving local political pressure to remove his posts. “So, I got to asking questions. At that particular time I was friends with folks in Birmingham who managed AL.com,” he said. “People in Scottsboro were calling and saying ‘You can’t let this guy say that.’ Sometimes they let [my comments] stay. Other times they didn’t. So, because of that censorship I started the blog.”

Morgan’s alternative news blog is called “In the Boro”, formerly” Watch for Snakes in Scottsboro.”

Sometimes the reactions other people have to Morgan’s actions are upsetting. “I feel like crying sometimes because of people’s ignorance. Do you not realize what I am trying to do?” he said.

On his blog, he posts political commentary and videos from local political meetings, as well as information he gathers about various environmental concerns.

In the past, he says, his actions have actually helped to improve the rights of citizens. “A citizen could not go before the city council or county commission not so long ago without begging either the chairman or the council president to speak. I’m proud to say I had something to do with changing that.” Morgan, at his own expense, sued the county commission because they did not publish meeting notices on the bulletin board. Today, those meetings are posted in public view and a citizen sign in sheet is placed at all meetings so that anyone wishing to express a concern may easily do so.

Outside of politics, one of Morgan’s biggest concerns is the local environmental effects on health. He is a part of groups BEST and MATRR and worked with them to compile a report about the health hazards of radioactive emissions surrounding Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant. “Jackson County has the highest rate of brain cancer in the state of Alabama. Why is that? We asked the question, could it be possible that radiation is causing problems in North Alabama? We couldn’t come to a conclusion on it, but what we can conclude is that when we look at what is happening medically with the pollution in the river in our water systems and our drinking water, some frightening statistics come forth with cancer rates, unknown diseases, people going to the doctor, they don’t know why they are sick they just know they are sick. We are pointing out that we think we do know why, because the river is our lifeblood and the river is polluted. If you look up the river you have a massive defense industry. Seven nuclear reactors, three research reactors, weapons facility production. Then you have chemical plants, massive chemical industries along the river.”

Morgan continues to monitor river and rain waters. His suggestions are stark; don’t eat fish out of the river and don’t play in the rain. According to Morgan there are very high levels of Mercury in the Tennessee River and the rain is radioactive. “I monitor it all the time and get counts as high as 2000 counts per minute, which is basically your annual dose of radiation that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says is allowed,” he said. “You can’t see it, taste it or smell it. It’s out of sight out of mind.”

The answer is not that complicated. “Stop using those things which are killing people,” Morgan says.

“That requires a cultural and lifestyle change. We are not prepared to do that.” Morgan explains that if we could begin to veer away from antiquated energy sources, such as nuclear and coal, then we could begin to see a positive change. “Energy efficiency is the answer. There are solar panels now that can not only generate electricity, but store it. We are at a point now where we can generate power from the earth the sun, sugar, hydrogen. The real answer for a future is moving from the fossil fuel economy to the hydrogen economy. Of course you have big oil companies and politicians making money. They don’t want to go there because of the greed. They are making billions and trillions of dollars. They are concerned about their sphere, their clique, their culture, which is a lot different from yours and my culture.”

Morgan says that while the majority of people have been educated to be quiet, he cannot live like that. “That’s not what our nation is about. That’s not why for 21 years I did what I did. It’s because of my military background and my education that I have a calling to speak up about things and write. I have experienced a strong censorship by the local media and business organizations to try and protect an image. But what image? The people are the image. You have to accept the good and the bad,” he said.

“I bring information forward to say “I think there is a problem here. Some people don’t like that. Some people don’t like it when I say ‘hey, here is the problem, let’s work towards the solution. That’s bothersome to me. After all, military is engrained into me. I’m still fighting this battle. It’s within myself, but it’s also in the community. How to make improvements. How to work on things. So, that’s the reason I write blogs. That can be my input. By conveying that information and in that information expressing my concern and my views. If that helps the community, if that helps other people to understand what’s going on around us, then I think I’ve accomplished something.”

Morgan's blog, which is frequently updated, may be viewed here.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Backpack Buddies, sending home hope

P.A.L.S. Club, Woodville High School

Common sense tells us that nutritious food is essential for the mental and physical development of children. However, statistics show that many American children go hungry each and every day. In fact, 15.8 million children live in homes that do not have an adequate amount of nutritious food, according to the USDA.

Most educators can vouch for the old story that many children only get fed at school, but in 2012 Woodville High School student Alyssa Cosby had an idea to change all of that. Cosby says that the idea stemmed from the school's participation in Christmas Charities. "I was in Bible class and they were taking up money for a local family to help them buy Christmas presents for their child. I started thinking that if families needed help at Christmas that they probably needed help the rest of the year too," she said.

Cosby discussed the idea with her mother, and together they decided it would be a great idea to start a club that could help community members in need throughout the year. The name, they decided, should be P.A.L.S., Panthers Always Living Strong.

Cosby wrote out her ideas for the club and presented them to one of her teachers, Mrs. Amanda Peek. "I went back at break that day and she informed me she loved the idea and encourage me to get others on board," Cosby said.

Cosby spread the word to other students that they would need about sixty kids to make the project work. Before long the club had been created and officers had been elected.

According to Cosby, at the first meeting, Mrs. Peek suggested the idea for "Backpack Buddies." The idea was to send bags of food home at the end of the week with students in need. "The idea was a major success and in its first year PALS helped around 30-50 kids in the school every weekend," Cosby said.

Since P.A.L.S. was founded in 2012, the Backpack Buddies program has spread to other schools throughout Jackson County. In addition to Woodville High School, Skyline, Bridgeport Middle and Bridgeport Elementary schools all participate in this program and are able to send food home to around 175 students.

Backpack Buddies always accepts monetary or food donations. "The items we use are in individual packaging and are shelf stable. However, we do like to send fresh fruit whenever possible," Mrs. Peek said.

The following is a list of donation suggestions the group may accept for distribution:

Shelf-Stable Milk, Juice Boxes, Bottled Water, Cereal, Cereal Bars, Muffins, Macaroni & Beef Ravioli, Spaghetti &Meatballs,Beef Stew,Beans & Franks,Fresh Fruit,

Jerky/Cheese, Snack Cakes, Granola Bars, Rice Krispy Treats,Pudding Cups

Or, if you prefer you can sponsor an individual student for the following donation: $15/month, $75/semester, $150/school year.

For more information please contact Amanda Peek at Woodville High School: 256-776-2874 ext. 3102 or peeka@jackson.k12.al.us

*Photos courtesy of Amanda Peek