Pine Cones

My parents built a home in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina the year I graduated from college. Having been born and raised in New Jersey, the southern way of life was a novelty, one I soon embraced. Everything moved much slower down south, people were more cordial, and you can’t beat the mild winters. The warm weather enables flowers to bloom practically every month of the year. I noticed instantly that pine straw hugged the flower beds, the south’s answer to the brown, red or black mulch we use in the north. And why not? It is readily available from all the trees that pepper the Carolina landscape. Each year, our family heads down to South Carolina for vacation in late July when my parents’ backyard is strewn with pine cones. And each year, I pick out the best ones, carefully placing them in a box or bag for use during the holidays. I tuck them into our Christmas trees, fill large glass vases with them and set them on the mantles. I love pine cones natural or spray-painted gold, silver or white. Pine cones hang around in my home as winter decor until February. They are a gentle reminder of the summers spent at our family’s southern home and the promise of the warm, fun-filled summer days soon to come.