July - September 2009 Blog Archives
Sunhillow Berry Farm
Posted by: Greg on June 1st, 2009
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Here in
Southeastern Louisiana, we are a month away from muscadine season
which starts mid August and ends mid September. There are a bunch
of wild muscadine vines growing on my property but the vines are
high up in the tree which makes it difficult to pick them. There
are some growing near the ground, but there aren't enough of them
to make a batch with. A couple of years ago, I planted some vines
on my property, but I still don't have enough to make a batch so
I head on down to Sunhillow Berry Farm, which is less than a half
a mile from my house and I get all the muscadines I want.
Sunhillow Berry Farm is located off of LA 41 in the northern part of St. Tammany Parish and it is nice quiet place to go pick muscadine grapes. Currently there are 4 rows of vines totalling 1.5 acres, so you shouldn't have a hard time picking enough grapes to make a batch of wine. Just today, I went over to the farm and took some pictures for everyone to see in case you are looking for a place to pick the grapes.
) Entrance Sign |
) Little check in House |
) Welcome sign on door |
) Picking Buckets |
) Signs on the house |
) Pay Box |
) Vine Row |
) Vine Row |
) Young Muscadines |
) Vine Row |
) Honey Bee boxes |
|
You probably noticed that I posted a picture of honey bee boxes. The boxes are located on the south side of the vineyard, but honey bees will not attack you if you respect their space by keeping a respectable distance from the hive. I walked all around the boxes inspecting the vines and grapes and I was never bothered by even one. I can understand if you are allergic to bee stings that their presence might make you nervous. If that is the case, you can still pick grapes by staying on the north side of the vineyard. If you bring your young kids along with you, I would definitely keep them away from the hives, because you know how kids love to explore stuff.
Also every time I've visited the farm, no one has ever been in the little check in house to collect money for the grapes, so that means you are on the honor system when it comes down to paying for your harvest. I know of course that you will be honest and help the owners of the property by paying for what you have picked.
Driving directions to farm can viewed by clicking here
What To Do With Old Wine Corks?
Posted by: Greg on August 14th, 2009
Most of the time when my wife and I open a bottle of wine, be it store bought or our own, we toss the cork into the garbage and we save the bottle for future bottling needs. To be perfectly honest with you, I never thought that old wine corks could be turned into something creative until I ran across some pictures on the internet that show what to do with them! I was amazed to see how creative people can be using old wine corks. Just take a look at the pictures below.
) Wall Art |
) Chalk Board |
) Cork Lamp |
) Cork Coasters |
) placecard holders |
) Cork Chair |
) Cork Wall |
) Cork Baseboard |
) Cork Lamp |
) Cork Table Top |
) Cork Table |
) Cork Car |
Pearl River Rebels Football
Posted by: Greg on September 1st, 2009
It is that time of the season again, it is time for Friday night football in Pearl River, it is time for Rebels football!!!
Last year the Rebels finished 7-3 in district play, losing two key district games to Salmen and Franklinton, before heading off to the playoff's. In the first round of the playoff's, the Rebels was matched up against the tough Shaw Eagles and the Rebels didn't fair too good against Shaw, losing the game by 20 points. The final score of that game was Shaw 40 Pearl River 20.
From what I have read in the newspaper, this season will be a rebuilding time for the Rebels seeing that almost all of the offensive line and eight starters on defense graduated. All State running back James Gillim is returning for his senior season and the coach plans to use his talents on both sides of the ball, which should help out the team a lot.
Last year, my wife and I sat in the stands just about every game that the Rebels played and watched the Rebels offense rush the ball with success against smaller, unprepared teams, but when it came down to good teams like Franklinton and Salmen, the running attack wasn't good enough to win the game. Even in the playoff game, the Rebels continued to go to the ground attack for their offense and again, they came up short!
Anyone that knows anything about football knows that an offense can't be one dimensional. You have to keep the opposing defense guessing and off balance by mixing things up with a combination of pass schemes and run plays. But when a team runs the ball 99% of the time like the Rebels, it don't take a road scholar to figure out their game plan! Judging from Coach Joe Harris's recent comments in the Times Picayune newspaper, it don't look like the game plan is going to change anytime soon.....
" People all the time want us to throw the ball, but they don't see what I see in practice every week. We're going to run the football. It's that simple. That's what we do. And we think we will be the best running team around here."
Thursday, Aug 27, 2009 Times Picayune Metro Prep section Preview
I really hope Coach Harris changes his mind and incorporates more passing into his game plan, but his comments tells me a different story. Maybe he feels he lacks talent on the offense to execute more passing plays, though I doubt very seriously this is the reason, because he has 3 good running backs in James Gillium, Jeremiah Levy and Kendall Twillie that he could use for play action passes. There are many ways a coach can utilize a RB out of the backfield in a passing play, but that is very seldom seen in Pearl River football.
Maybe rushing the ball is engrained into his brain so much that he feels he can't do anything else or maybe he is just set in his ways and he don't want to change. I'm just guessing! Only Coach Harris knows! Whatever the reasons behind his decision, the Rebels offense will always be one dimensional if things don't change. If he wants his team to be a contender for a district or state title, he has to do something more than just rush the ball. Otherwise, the Rebels are never going to get to the big game!!
Anyway, I wish the Rebels the best in their upcoming season. Of course, I will be cheering for them in the stands no matter if they win or lose.
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| 9/04 | at Varnado | 7 p.m. |
| 9/11 | West Feliciana | 7 p.m. |
| 9/18 | Northshore | 7 p.m. |
| 9/25 | at Loranger | 7 p.m. |
| 10/01 | at Bogalusa | 7 p.m. |
| 10/09 | Vidalia | 7 p.m. |
| 10/17 | at Riverdale | 7 p.m. |
| 10/23 | at Franklinton | 7 p.m. |
| 10/30 | East Jefferson | 7 p.m. |
| 11/06 | Salmen | 7 p.m. |
Another Mixed Berry Wine Experiment
Posted by: Greg on September 5th, 2009
I think I can honestly say that mixed berries (blackberry,Raspberry,blueberry) is our favorite fruit to experiment with in making wine. We have made several batches of mixed berry wine blended with other fruits in the past and all of them have exceeded our expectations. Mixed berries by itself makes a mouth-watering, very robust, well-rounded red wine! It is a wine my wife and I thoroughly enjoy.
This experiment, we'll be blending mixed berries (Townsend Farms Triple Berry Blend) with Vino Rosso to make up a 5 gallon batch of wine. We are hoping that the Vino Rosso will add more depth and complexity to the wine. If our experiment is successful, I will definitely post the recipe, but for now you will just stay tuned.
PAGE UPDATED 01.30.2010
