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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

S is for Scarecrow





Rosenberg Mamaw (what we all called Daddy’s mother) was a remarkable woman.  She made almost everything we needed on the farm, from food to remedies to soap to scarecrows.  She always kept busy and whenever we needed something, she used whatever we had on hand.



When the corn started getting tall and ears would come on, we had many crows that would make the rounds from farm to farm to feed off the corn.  Something was in order to keep them away because we ate the corn, as well as kept a good portion of it for the cows.



Our grandparents threw very little away.  Mamaw always kept Papaw’s worn out shirts and pants to make scarecrows for the corn patch.  I also suspect she pulled stuff out of this box of goods when it was time for Halloween.



Armed with an old broomstick or handle to serve as a stake, a stack of clothes over her arm, she’d head for the bran in search of loose hay.  It wasn’t long and she had several scarecrows made that she would place strategically around the field.




We played hide and seek in the corn patch just before harvest season.  The rows were so tall and thick and the field so vast that it was an excellent place to hide.  We could hear the caw from the dozens of crows that circled the area as we giggled and scrambled through the corn.  All these decoys made hide and seek even better.

6 comments:

  1. My "C" entry was on crows, as it so happens... It's kind of a toss-up: the crows eat the corn, but they're after the insects that cause damage to the crop. I can see scaring them off, though. They're interesting birds to watch.

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    1. Thanks for visiting and your comment. I didn't know you posted on crows. I'll have to go back and look at it.

      We needed the corn for the cows mostly, so my grandmother made scarecrows every year. We have crows where I live now too, but lots of ravens. I think they may be part of the crow family, but I'm not sure on that. Ravens are very smart. and superb flyers. They love the wind and do acrobatics out in the desert behind my house.

      Sunni

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  2. Wow! I've always wanted to make scarecrows but I've never had the opportunity. Sounds fun. :)

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    1. ovengoodies,

      They are fun to make. My grandmother was a master at it and whipped them up real quick.

      Sunni

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  3. Scarecrows always kind of creep me out. You can tell I haven't spent much time on farms in my life!

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  4. Stephanie,

    You really think they're creepy? It's not like they'll come to life and grab you going by. I guess that only happens in the movies.

    Sunni

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Sunni