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Sugar Cane in Clewiston, FL

February 18th, 2014 by Lila Steinhoff
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South of Lake ‘O’

I spent a week with a friend in Sarasota and drove home on Florida State Road 80 last week. State Road 80 runs along the south side of Lake Okeechobee from Clewiston, through South Bay and Belle Glade and on to West Palm Beach. At this time of the year, it is not unusual to have sugar cane fields burning right next to the highway.

burning sugar cane field Burning Sugar Cane Field

Fire and Smoke

If you are very close to the burning field, you may see flames. However, it is the towering, intensely black smoke that is seen for miles. The soot and ash from the fires have blown 60+ miles all the way to West Palm Beach many times during the more than 40 years we have lived here.

beginning of burn of sugar cane fieldSmoke from Burning Sugar Cane Field

The field is burned immediately before it is harvested. Besides being impressive, the set fire is fast. A 40-acre field can burn in 15 or 20 minutes.

But, Why?

Sugar cane belongs to the grass family. Mature sugar cane has dry leaves and feathery tops that make up about 25% of the plant.

IMG_1401.jpg-c.jpg-ccMature Sugar Cane

Leaves and other plant debris must be removed to aid in harvest and milling. The best explanation I have seen for why the fields are burned comes from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. 

Controlled fires in sugarcane fields burn off dead leaves and other biomass “trash,” which would otherwise impede the harvest operation, increase transportation costs to the mill, interfere with milling machinery, and absorb sugar during the extraction process. (Absorbed sugar cannot be recovered.)

In the days before mechanical harvesters, laborers from Jamaica were recruited to cut the cane with long machete-like knives. Burning the fields reduced the “trash” they had to contend with, but it also got rid of the snakes and rats that infested the fields. A bonus from the fire… the workers would surround the perimeter of the burn to “harvest” the scores of rabbits trying to escape.

If you want to learn a little more about the sugar industry, the rest of this article, An Overview of Florida Sugarcane, is well worth a read.

Mills Run 24 Hours a Day

When the cane is cut, mechanical harvesters take the cane to trucks, which in turn, take several tons of cane per load to  sugar mills.

US Sugar Corp sugar cane millUS Sugar at Clewiston, FL

The mills run 24 hours a day crushing the cane to release the juice. From the juice comes everything from molasses to raw sugar. Raw sugar is sent on to refineries, also running 24 hours a day,  to make the white granulated sugar most people buy in those 5-pound bags in the grocery stores.

Local NORAD Trivia

The  Civil Defense Headquarters (now called Emergency Management) in Palm Beach County used to get calls from NORAD, because the heat signature of a sugar cane field light off matched that of a missile launch. They wanted to know if there was something going on in the area.

Burning Cane Field in Belle GladeCane Field Burning near Belle Glade, FL

A sight that could be seen for miles locally was picked up by NORAD. Impressive!

 

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Sleepover Olympics

February 16th, 2014 by Lila Steinhoff
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Not Sochi, No Snow, Just Everything Else

Grandson Malcolm and two of his friends picked tonight to have sleepover at Gran and Grand Dad’s house. Malcolm comes often, but this is the first time for the girls, Cheyenne and Savannah. First event was to check out the swing in the mango tree and the fireman’s pole left from the dismantling of the playhouse built in 1979 for Malcolm’s father, Matt.

fireman's pole

swing

swing

Next, we raided the closet for board games.

Othello

chess

They settled on Othello and chess. Savannah took home the gold in Othello, but Malcolm washed out in chess. Gran managed to win this time. Malcolm was the reigning champ, because he won the very first game the two of us played… and the second one.

Supper from Scratch

Have to keep up the sleepover games participants’ energy, so supper began in the garden with the kids cutting fresh herbs to make their own pizza sauce… parsley, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, thyme and basil.

herbs

Savannah and Cheyenne prepped the herbs and smeared the sauce on the crust.

herbs

pizza

Malcolm helped with the pepperoni and cheese. I added a few black olives, and the pizza was ready to put in the oven.

pizza

Wait Time

Rather than stare at the oven, all moved on to Lincoln Logs assembly.

Lincoln logs

Next event was riding the barber chair up and down.

barber chair

A little music before supper was provided by the trio.

piano

Dinner Is Served

The pizza looked and smelled really good coming out of the oven. The review of the pizza was 12 ‘thumbs’ up. (Shoe removal was necessary.)

pizza

Not much left. Guess they won’t be having cold pizza for breakfast.

pizza

Letting Supper Settle

After pizza, there was time in the yard in the dark with glow sticks and two-way radios.

gglowsticks and two-way radios

 Dessert was served al fresco in the porch swing.

ice cream

Decompressing

After so much activity, the participants at the sleepover Olympics unwound with a movie… Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn. Savannah was worn out and fell asleep in the first 30 minutes.

asleep

Malcolm and Cheyenne made it to the end and had to be persuaded that 11:07 PM was, indeed, bedtime.

asleep

So Much FUN!

I am sure those attending and participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi this week have had the time of their lives, but it couldn’t have been any better than the sleepover event at our house tonight.

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Arborists, Not Just Tree Trimmers

January 14th, 2014 by Lila Steinhoff
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Too Big, Too Leafy

One of the facts of life in South Florida is that vegetation… all kinds… grows and keeps on growing, and growing, and growing. Yard maintenance companies manage to keep lawns and shrubs under control, but trees have to be tamed by professionals. Besides just cutting them back, the canopies must be opened up.

40-foot mango tree

40-foot Tall Mango Tree

Prevention

One reason so much attention is paid to the care of trees is that, trees with full canopies can be torn apart in the high winds of a hurricane. There is so much thick foliage, that the air can’t pass through. Our 80-year old sea grape tree is native, very large and very sturdy. However, it was no match for Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Sea Grape Tree after Hurricane Wilma

Sea Grape Tree after Hurricane Wilma

Not Just Cutters

Kelley's Truck

Kelley’s Tree Service, Inc.

Three or four times in the last 38 years, we have called Kelley’s Tree Service Inc to have them trim the trees on our property.

Today, they were back here to do two very large mango trees, a 20-ft tall unruly fishtail palm, a huge old sea grape that is my treasure and removed what was left of a Japanese orchid tree that was nearly dead.

tree trimmer

At the Top of the Mango Tree

removing Japanese orchid tree

Removing Japanese Orchid Tree

partially pruned sea grape tree

Partially Trimmed Sea Grape Tree

pruned sea grape tree

Pruning Complete

The Kelley guys have been doing this for over 50 years, and it shows. Their knowledge and professionalism are way beyond good. Any questions (What does ‘raising’ a tree or ‘opening up’ a tree mean?) were answered patiently and in layman’s terms.

Kelley’s Is Top Notch

If that wasn’t enough, they left the yard so clean you’d never know they’d been here.

tree branches

Limbs from Mango Tree

cleaned yard

Yard after Cleanup

Kelley’s Tree Service is a great company. If you need tree service, I hope you are lucky enough to find a company to equal Kelley’s experience and reputation.

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