Zongozotla Pintitos

[hmoosek]

George, what is the story on Zongozotla Pintitos? I found a 15 year old thread started by you on Garden Web. 

[macmex]

That's a landrace cowpea from the area in and around Zongozotla, Puebla, Mexico. We used to live about 3 hours away from there and sometimes visited. I preached in the U.E.I.M. church there. It's a Totonac town and very scenic. Here's a picture I took around 2000. Looks like it was taken from an airplane, but no, I took it from a mountain ridge above, before descending to the town.

Cowpeas are not particularly common in Mexico. By that I mean that I never ran into them in the market anywhere I went. Yet I know they're present in some places. I believe they have them near Tamazunchale, San Luís Potosí. (Vaguely remember seeing some there.) 

I looked and realized I no longer have a picture of this cowpea. I need to grow it out, renew seed and document it. 

Here's a link to the Houz (formerly Gardenweb) thread where I mentioned it years ago. Notice, Houz discontinued the photo.

I received seed of this cowpea from a dear Totonac friend named Ernestina. We first met her because she had sever health issues which could not be dealt with in the Sierra (out in the hills). She needed care from specialists and it was going to be a long road to recovery. We ended up having her live with us for about two years. We paid her to help with the children and housework all the while we helped her to deal with doctors and her medical issues. We had an ongoing ministry, helping people who wouldn't otherwise get such care. They'd just have died. "Erne" as we called her became like part of the family She required a very special diet or else she'd relapse and die. My wife helped her to develop recipes which fit her diet and to put together her own cook book before she went home. She was so close to us that we actually sent our two little girls to stay with her, in Zongozotla, for a week back around 1999. She and Jerreth still communicate.

Anyway, I'm sure I received this seed from Erne. The Totonacs in the Zongozotla area plant these cowpeas in February, which is when their Spring begins. They harvest them in June and typically use them to make tamales, mixing the beans in with the cornmeal  before steaming them. The tamales are absolutely delicious and because the seed is both black and white, they call them pintitos, which means "spotted."

This bean has been problematic for me, when growing it in the USA. Typically I get either the white or the black seed to grow, but not both. For a number of grow outs I've had to select and re-mix the colors from different years, in order to obtain a sample which approximates the original. It's the only cowpea I've ever had problems with.

Pods are average in length and pretty slender. Vines are average. Nothing special to see. Yet I know in their native habitat they do quite well. Totonacs don't baby anything!

The climate in Zongozotla is that of "coffee country." Elevation is between 3,000' and 4,000'. It is very cloudy most of the year and rains a whole lot from June until late August. April and May are very hot and dry. They typically grow bananas, citrus, corn, beans and coffee.

[hmoosek]

Great history! I love hearing stories like that. Yes, you need to try your hand at a grow out. I’ve been trying to gather information on a cowpea called polecat. It was donated by someone in the next town over from me. 45 ish years ago I knew just about everyone there (very small community) as I pumped gas at the only service station in town. It was one of the last full service stations in the area. I don’t have many reasons to pass through the area anymore though. I plan on requesting them through seed savers if I can get one of those forms printed out.

[heavyhitterokra]

Wow, hmoosek, that's a thing from the past! I haven't seen a full-service gas station in years.  Speaking of which.  I had to buy propane today.  It's already up to $2.70 per gallon.  The delivery man said he looks for it to hit $3.00 soon and maybe even higher before winter's cold weather arrives.  Back in 2015 or so, I remember it hitting North of $4.00 during that fake gas shortage they managed to create back then.  Sure makes me miss the days of 99 cent propane in the early 2000s.

I used to only burn firewood, but have since gotten asthma so bad that I can't do that anymore. I haven't been able to smell or taste anything since 2013.  I can't tell when the stove is smoking until it gets so thick I can see it with my eyes.  It's tough to remain self-sufficiant when your health doesn't want to cooperate.

[hmoosek]

Heavyhitterokra,
My wife has asthma too and she can’t smell either. You never know what’s going to set it off either. Can be as simple as going out into the cool air, eating the wrong thing, etc. MSG will bring on an attack pretty quick. She got the flu when we were first married, so trying to be a good husband, I opened a can of Chicken Noodle Soup, heated and served it to her. Asthma attack hit her immediately. Back then we didn’t know what all she was allergic to. She’s allergic to all kinds of things, but now we have a pretty good grasp on what to stay away from.


I wonder if asthma has anything to do with smell? She hasn’t been able to smell for several years now.

Propane is already 3 bucks here. Was last winter too. Always something out there to grab every nickel it seems.

[macmex]

My wife was in the hospital several days this week. My daughter, though she lives on the property, has her own home, so I was alone. Every day we'd drive to Tulsa to be with my wife, returning home to start chores (a little late), get a bite to eat and go to bed. I've been feeding sugar syrup to my bees, in preparation for winter, so one evening, while making my supper I started 6 lb of sugar to 3 of water simmering on the stove. It has to hit a boil to get that much sugar into solution.

I contentedly ate my supper, processed milk, washed dishes and then got cleaned up and into bed, only an hour later than normal. When my wife's not home I often struggle to get to sleep as I always feel like I'm forgetting something and end up spinning my wheels to all hours of the night. But this time, I made myself go to bed and promptly fell asleep.

Two hours later my little English shepherd came into the room and woke me. I had forgotten the sugar water on the stove. I jumped up and immediately started coughing, as my room (opposite end of the house from the kitchen) was filled with thick smoke. I ran down the hall, remembering THE SUGAR WATER, running into things, as I couldn't see even two feet in front of me. By the time I got to the kitchen it was all I could do to just open the door and get OUT. I had to breath! (Not one of our smoke detectors nor the CO2 detector went off! Thank God for my dog!)

After a couple breaths I decided I simply had to get to the stove. It was only 20' from the kitchen door. I HAD to TURN OFF the burner. At this point it hadn't burst into flames. I managed that, running back outdoors to breath. I propped the kitchen door open to let some smoke out and after a few more minutes I went back in, ran down the hallway and turned on the attic fan, to draw the smoke out of the house. (I then ran back outside to breath.) After another breathing rest, I ran back in and openned a few windows. The smoke cleared out quickly and soon I was able to go back to bed. It took a while to go back to sleep. Part of it was the adrenaline. Part of it was sadness over my poor memory. I've always had a bad memory, but in the last year or two it's become much worse and I've been working so very hard to correct all that can be corrected.

Still, we all face these kinds of issues (or will face them). We have a one way ticket in this life and, physically, the outlook isn't good, no matter what we do. It's so important to align our thought with reality, find the Solution to our deepest problem, which is sin and alienation from God. Taking care of that, by getting into right relation with Him, through Christ, will also ultimately resolve the physical issue... but not before we go through a yet deeper valley, physically. 

This all makes me think of Romans 8, verses 20-25.

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Romans 8:20-25  
 

[hmoosek]

You were fortunate! That could have turned out bad. You were probably so mentally drained that you just fell asleep. In my opinion, Mental stress is tougher on a person than physical stress.
I’m sorry to hear about your wife. Those hospital stays are tough on everyone, especially the one that’s in there! Please let us know when Judith gets home and let her know that we are thinking of her!

[macmex]

Oh, Jerreth got out two days ago, thank God! She's doing really well now. 

[chrysanthemum]

I’m glad to hear that Jerreth is well enough to be home, and I’m really glad that she has an intact home and husband to return to.  I agree with your statement: Thank God for your dog.

I’d also tack on that it is time to invest in new batteries for your detectors if not new detectors themselves.  CO detectors are only good for about seven years, I believe, and smoke detectors should be replaced every ten, I think.  There is no good reason why those alarms failed to sound.  

[macmex]

Agreed. We got a new smoke alarm/CO2 combined alarm unit today! It's too important to risk.

[heavyhitterokra]

Isn't it amazing that a dog has the wherewithal to wake up a human, rather than just running off to hide somewhere? Sometimes, you gotta wonder what goes through their little heads.

We have a little dog named, Chester ... Who knows what breed he is? But he's smarter than our poor old shiatsu, that's for sure. The shiatzu's name is, Bandit.

Poor old Bandit was at the house recently, scratching on the door to get in, while I was working down at the garden. The garden is more than 500' feet away from our house. Chester saw Bandit scratching at the door to get inside, then ran all the way to the garden, started barking at me, then started running in such tight little circles that he made me think he was hurt. So I began to follow him to see what he was up to. When we got back to the house, he stopped short and began barking at me again, then he ran off to stand beside Bandit. All he wanted was for me to open the door.

On the other hand, when Bandit is inside the house wanting to go outside, he just stands patiently by the door, hoping someone will notice him. (Oftentimes, we don't). Then, Chester will intervene, by running to get one of us to let Bandit outside. Chester is a little busy-body, but he sure is cute.

Sounds like Lista deserves a really good treat and probaly a metal to go with it.  Does Lista, in Spanish mean "Clever girl?"

[macmex]

You got it Ron! That's the meaning of the name.

[rdback]

Oct 21, 2021 15:07:37 GMT -6 hmoosek said:

George, what is the story on Zongozotla Pintitos? I found a 15 year old thread started by you on Garden Web. 

HMK, I received Zongozotla seeds from George and grew them in 2011. I refreshed seeds in 2019. I'm sure I can dig some up for you, if you're interested. Just PM your mailing info.

[hmoosek]

Thanks!