Nutty

LEGS AND ARMS @ Cotton Field 102410

Legs and I have had the worst allergies lately......my throat has been dry, my asthma has been acting up, we wake up blowing our noses, sniffling and sneezing all day!!! 

The cause: PEANUTS.  Peanuts are farmed on nearly 200,000 acres of Southern Alabama.  Alabama ranks 3rd in the United States producing about 400 million pounds of peanuts every year and contributing to a very large part of the economy down here.  Every year in Dothan (about 30 minutes from Enterprise) they have a large peanut festival attracting tourist from all over.

Farmers faced several problems after the Civil War that made cotton a challenge and the peanut a better option.  The depleted nutrients in the soil and the ravaging effects of the Boll Weevil devastated cotton production in this area.  Peanuts grow best in warm, subtropical climates and in sandy, well-drained chalky soils such as those found in Southern Alabama.

The Boll Weevil is a big trademark down here.  In fact, in downtown Enterprise there is a monument of the Boll Weevil.  It stands as the WORLD's ONLY monument built to honor an agricultural pest! Isn't that nutty!?!**