The weather forecast is calling for frost this coming Saturday night. I look forward to the first frost each year for several reasons. If we have frost that means we have much cooler air and that cooler air is always a welcome change for me
The first frost signals the forthcoming changing of the seasons. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fall of the year wholeheartedly, but that first frost tells me that winter is coming. With the changing of the seasons comes many activities that are enjoyed this time of year.
Quail season will be coming in right alongside that first frost. My birddogs have been getting frisky for several weeks because they knew this change was coming. We will soon be out hunting and letting those dogs do the very thing they were put on this earth for.
I’ve always said we needed that first frost to run the snakes in the ground so they would not be in the way of my dogs. I also know that frost will kill a lot of the cover and all the greenery will be gone. This will enable my dogs to smell better and that cooler air will allow them to run longer. It will be bird season!
Most of our local farmers are in the fields trying to get their crops harvested. The first frost is a reminder to get everything in the sack as soon as they can. Harvesting takes on a little more difficulty after those cold nights show up. Frost can hurt the peanuts that have already been dug, but for the ones that are still in the ground the vines can take a big lick as well.
The heads on cotton pickers can freeze overnight prompting folks to park them in the evening towards the east. The warmth from the morning sun will help thaw them out so picking can resume. The days are shorter which cuts down on time in the field harvesting.
These minor difficulties don’t deter the farmers, and they go on working because they are such resilient individuals. Back in my farming days, we thawed the heads out with a hot water pressure and then made our way to the field. It’s just part of the deal. Although getting wet on a frosty morning is not a lot of fun.
That first frost also rings the bell that it’s time to dig potatoes and get them in a warm place. Preferably, for me at least, in a pot of boiling water, so they can be stewed on down and enjoyed on one of those cool evenings.
This first frost will also prompt some folks to get their sugar cane cut down. After the cane has been cut and all that juice has been squeezed out, it will be time to light the fire. It’ll be syrup cooking weather. Sitting around a syrup boiler on a cold morning is something that I truly love to do.
Although our local cotton gins are up and running, in my mind, there is nothing like that frost to tell me it’s cotton ginning weather. Although it’s not done much anymore, when the gins started running it alerted the local folks that it was time for some fresh mullet
I had a great uncle, Auby Womack, who lived in Emanuel County and told many stories about mullet and this time of year. Uncle Auby said he had an old mule and a wagon that he would load down with fresh mullet and make his way through the countryside selling those mullet. The people he sold to looked forward to those fish each year.
In days gone by, that first frost was a sign for folks to start killing hogs. The hogs would be killed and cut up and some of that meat would be going into the smokehouse. As a child I remember a few days spent killing hogs. Sadly, those days are gone for the most part.
With those cooler nights on the horizon, I spent the morning splitting and stacking firewood. After the “new” wood was split and stacked I started moving seasoned wood from last year closer to the fireplace. The warmth and the comfort that it provides will be enjoyed on the cold days that are soon to be here.
Once upon a time, there were so many preparations that were very necessary in order to survive the upcoming winter. We live in a much different world these days and are afforded many luxuries. I’m an old soul and my heart longs for the days of old when things required much more work, but they brought much more satisfaction.
I still hold onto as many ways of the old folks as I possibly can. I also embrace the change that is soon to come because in my mind, change is always necessary. It also won’t be very long after that first frost that I sit down to a meal of fresh mullet and I’ll smile thinking about my Uncle Auby.
