Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Threshing Pecans


I finished reading In Praise of Pecans by June Jackson tonight, and I wanted to share a piece of art mentioned in the Afterword. Jackson writes, "Known for representing daily life as she saw it firsthand, [Clementine] Hunter painted scenes of picking cotton, washing clothes, getting married and getting buried. Fortunately for us, she painted a charming picture entitled Threshing Pecans (above on tin cover), portraying an earlier, preindustrial method of coaxing the nuts from the trees to the ground--adults would use long poles to shake the pecans while children climbed up into the trees to help in the process."

I love the little girl hanging upside down in the first tree, and I have to question Ms. Hunter's leaf and pecan full trees. Pecan trees are harvested in the fall/winter after the leaves leave. Sorry about the quality of the photo. I was unable to locate the artwork as a lone piece. One may purchase this pecan filled tin from the Cane River Pecan Company of Louisiana.

8 comments:

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I love this tin! And I can vouch for how delicious the pecans are : )

maggie moran said...

Isn't it lovely, Mary! Ew, and I could really go for some chocolate covered pecans right now! :)

maggie moran said...

Hee hee! ;)

sage said...

Re: picking pecans from trees with leaves. Maybe they were trying to harvest the pecans before the squirrels got into the act... (ew, green pecans)

maggie moran said...

Could be, Sage. We have one tree which is a true papershell. I can crack them with one hand and they measure almost two inches. These pecans have the green taste for months after they fall. I no longer pick them. The dogs are thankful, too. They graze in the mornings! ;)

Isabel said...

I love pecans. My favorite snack.

Have a Merry Christmas.

I need to find a tree. The costs of pecans are going up!

maggie moran said...

Hey WW100! Send me your address and I will send you some pecans picked from our yard. We don't sell ours, but I don't mind sharing. :)

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