Friday, June 26, 2009

Summer Days Part 2




My kids love watermelon. I guess all kids do, but my kids make an art form out of eating it. They are hilarious to watch, although it is not so fun to clean up all that mess.
I remember eating watermelon at my grandparent's little country house when I was growing up. We would all go onto the back porch and my grandaddy would get his long knife and slice it open. He would have picked a couple from the garden early in that morning and he would sit them on the air vents (or in the fridge before they had central air) to cool. He would slice it open and start handing out the pieces. We would sprinkle a little salt on top and commence eating. We would spit seeds at each other and the juice would dribble all over us. After we had eaten our fill we would take the rinds down to the pasture fence and throw them to the cows. The cows loved watermelon rinds and they would stand at the fence line and wait for us to get done.
On Father's Day we went to my grandaddy's house and had watermelon. I looked out the window and saw my grandaddy handfeeding James watermelon. James was lapping it up and he was such a mess we had to change his clothes when he was done. Good summertime fun.
Do you have any watermelon memories to share?

7 comments:

  1. Mama Hen, I love reading your watermelon memories. We too used to salt our watermelon, I've just recently stopped. Is that a Southern tradition? My mom was from Tennessee, and my dad, North Carolina. Do you grow watermelons? I've tried, but didn't get them ripe before the weather cooled off.

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  2. My watermelon memories are the same as yours. Wish we could go back and do it one more time!

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  3. Jill and Mama Hen,
    if the two of you would like i can spit some seeds at the two of you.

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  4. No memories...but it sure does make me hungry!

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  5. I think I must about the one lone soul alive who doesn't like watermelon?? I get the craziest "You DON"T??" expressions whenever I mentioned this....so I'm not one to know but I've never heard of putting salt on watermelon (is that the secret to flavor?!?) Your bunch sure look like they are enjoying themselves!!

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  6. Let me just tell you that when my 8 year old from China gets finished with a slice of watermelon, the only thing left is this tiny, paper-thin rind that doesn't even resemble watermelon rind. That girl can EAT SOME WATERMELON. I have NEVER IN MY LIFE seen someone clean a watermelon rind like her.
    And you should see what she does to a chicken leg.

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  7. My office-mate at work doesn't like watermelon. Total Freak

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