Hiked the Gap Point Trail again today (see 2021 & 2022). Nothing really new, though I did talk with a nice couple from Thomasville who are staying in Apalach.
Anyway, on to today's pics. While discussing a recent talk by Kermit Brown hosted by the Apalachicola Area Historical Society at the Rainey House (no links; search engine use left as an exercise for the reader) with a friend, the topic of catfaces came up. These are scars left on pine trees decades ago by the turpentine industry, the idea being to drain off some of the tree's sap without killing the tree. Anyway, my friend had no idea what I was talking about, so here are some pictures.
A tree with a catface.
Closeup of the same catface, showing a metal gutter to guide sap into a Herty cup. The nail to hang the cup is still there too, just below the gutter.
In fact, here's an entire documentary from the 1940's showing how it was done. Looks like incredibly hard work. These days, I understand that turpentine and rosin are by-products of the paper industry, and of course petrochemical products have replaced many of the former uses for pine-sap products. BTW, turpentine from St. George Island was particularly prized for its clarity. It reportedly didn't affect light paint colors as much as other turpentines.
Finally, on the way out, here's a shot of East Slough. You can see where the main creek winds through by the change in the color of the reeds and needle grass.
I'm tired now. Going to hit 'post' and hit the rack.
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