Just a Story

I can remember as a kid we lived out in the country, Elsanor Alabama, to be exact, and we had hundreds of pines in the yard that would shed the needles every year. Dad told me and my brother when we were 7 and 8 years old that it was our job to rake the yard and pick up the pine cones.....I didnt mind this chore at all because we would pile up the pine needles as high as we could get them and then play stunt games with our bikes....We would peddle as fast as we could and crash into the pile of needles over and over again. Dad would let us play in it for a few days until he got worried that the grass was dieing from being smothered. Then it was time to take these pine needles to the burn pile. For a few years my dad was angry at his sister that lived just across the field from us so he would wait till she had clothes on her clothes line then set the huge pile of pine needles afire by reaching way up in the middle of the pile so it would make more smoke...The wind would take all that smoke towards her house and she had to rewash all of those clothes...Dad was a bit mean in that sense but my aunt deserved it...thats another story in itself. We would stand there for hours watching the pine needles burn and hear the crackling with the light breeze and the occasional squabbling sounds we heard from my aunts home ad she cussed my dad.

Been There Done That With My Neighbors I Have Here They Can Find Some Choice Words Thats For Sure, The Only Thing Different That We Did Is We Used Grass Clippings On A Brush Pile Yep Smokes Real Good.

We had the long needle pines that would really put off some needles every year.....When I was a teen there was a guy that raked that stuff for selling to lasndscapers as flower bed mulch.....He sold it for 3 to 4 dollars a bail.........I made a ply-wood bailer for hand bailing once and it was easy money.....on a slow day I could make 30 or so bails and make 100 dollars....All I did was go to folks that had pines in there yards and of course they didnt mind if I raked them for free....I made over 1000 one week but it didnt last because its only seasonal work.