SUMMARY: Just outside Flora, Mississippi, the Mississippi Petrified Forest is a remarkable natural site dating back over 36 million years to the Oligocene Epoch. Once lush tropical forests, ancient conifer trees were buried by floods and gradually transformed into stone through mineralization. This rare eastern U.S. petrified forest features well-preserved quartzized logs with visible bark and growth rings. Visitors can explore shaded trails and the Earth Science Museum, which includes fossils and prehistoric exhibits. With activities like gem mining, it offers an educational and enchanting experience, revealing Mississippi’s deep geological history beyond its cultural heritage.

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SUMMARY: When summer heats up in South Mississippi, heavy dishes feel too much, and salads seem mundane. A perfect choice for a refreshing Sunday brunch is gazpacho, a cool Spanish soup ideal for the season’s vine-ripe tomatoes. Originating from Spain and Portugal, gazpacho’s original recipe included stale bread, olive oil, water, vinegar, and garlic. The modern version involves pounding garlic, mixing soaked bread, olive oil, salt, ripe tomatoes, and vinegar by hand, served slightly chilled with optional garnishes like hard-boiled eggs or almonds. High-quality ingredients, especially fresh garlic, crusty bread, and vine-ripe tomatoes, are essential. It pairs well with light white wine, sherry, dry rosé, or local craft beer.

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SUMMARY: Galls on Red Bay trees are bright green, oddly shaped growths formed by the Red Bay Psyllid, Trioza magnoliae, a tiny Hemiptera insect related to cicadas and plant lice. These galls develop when nymphs feed on leaf edges, curling them into hollow pockets housing multiple nymphs. Red Bay, common along Gulf and Atlantic coasts, is a hardy tree whose leaves resemble store-bought bay leaves used in cooking. The psyllids cause little harm, with multiple generations yearly and galls browning in winter. A tiny parasitic wasp preys on these insects. This long-standing plant-insect relationship is natural and harmless, even adding slight protein if leaves with galls are used in recipes.

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