This is the time of year when I was growing up, that we had to break corn, kill hogs and salt down the meat before hanging in the smokehouse, get syrup made, bank sweet potatoes, and otherwise get ready for winter.

I don't know if any of y'all know what souse, or hoghead cheese is, so I'll tell ya. Mama would take a big pot and boil the hoghead, the liver and lungs and hog ears etc. (the offal it's called) though some would call it awful (small pun.) But pull the cooked meat off and dice everything, add vinegar and salt and red pepper flakes and press it all into a pan, weigh it down overnight, and it sets up so you can slice it. It's tasty.

Cousin Bea says "Oh for the good old days!" She's nuts. It was all hard grueling work and I wouldn't want to relive my childhood for anything. Food from the store doesn't taste as delicious as the homegrown stuff, but I got over that a long time ago.
susil.