Archive for September, 2009

Avery Island, LA | photography

September 19, 2009

Yesterday Percy took me to the birthplace of Tabasco Sauce, Avery Island, LA. It’s very intriguing and fairly huge. We took a tour of the factory, learned about the farming of the peppers and how the farmers use “le petite baton rouge” or “the little red stick” to pick out the ripest, most juicy peppers. The peppers have to match the color of the stick or else they’re not picked.

Did you know that after the peppers have been picked, salted, and ground they are then put into barrels which are sealed with rock salt (all of which is mined on Avery Island) and fermented for three years! Then it’s churned in this huge thing for up to 28 days mixing with vinegar before it gets bottled. Amazing how this stuff is made.

Anyways, we toured the property as well and we saw alligators. I had nightmares last night. All things reptile creep me out. But it was fascinating.

An excellent date and very informative! Enjoy some of the pictures and pretend that you are there with Percy and I enjoying the humid, beautiful day.

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the swamp land of Louisiana & a beautiful base of a magnificent tree

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inside the McIlhenny's Tabasco factory and an overview of a small piece of Avery Island

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the Tabasco Country Store had TONS of Tabasco products from measuring spoons to jalapeno ice cream

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a barrel that housed tabasco sauce that is cemented shut with Avery Island rock salt and crawfish etouffee which I don't really care for

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the new jalapeno tabasco sauce bottled and getting ready to be shipped out and a beautiful flower that grows throughout louisiana

percy enjoyed the et tou fe while I enjoyed the scenery

percy enjoyed the crawfish etouffee while I enjoyed the scenery

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the really cool tabasco artwork and a shot of two alligators

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alligators and the marshlands of louisiana

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giant, and I mean GIANT spiders all over the place... about the size of a baseball

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agillators as my good little friend Jeremy used to call them

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amazing scenery paired with two alligators

An afternoon in the yard

September 18, 2009

Yesterday Percy came over in the afternoon and we tackled the yard.  I put on some gloves and started to pull weeds from the flowerbeds while Percy worked on the lawn.  We labored out there for three hours or so and I got about 1/3 of the way around the house.  Nobody has pulled weeds here since May!  Ridiculous right?!  So there is plenty to do and I have even more to learn.  I know my plants have some sort of illness and I need to figure out what’s happening with them so I can make my plants nice and healthy.

Moving past the weeds, the funniest part of the day was watching Percy push that lawnmower all around the giant lawn, dripping with sweat, and our sweet little neighbors get out their monster of a riding lawnmower and mow one of their lawns in less then five minutes.  Once they finish they sit out on their front porch and watch Percy push his lawnmower.  It really made me laugh.  Later Doug, our neighbor, told Percy that he loves watching people work in their yard and that he thought we were doing a great job!

Today Percy is taking me to Avery Island.  Casey I’ll buy you a little something from there.  I guess Avery Island, LA is where all of the Tabasco Sauce in the world (?) is grown and made.  I’m pretty excited for this field trip.  But I’ll tell ya, tut tut, it looks like rain.

Enjoy your Friday!  I’m certain I will…

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