by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Apr 15, 2019 | Appalachian, Family, Food, Hiking, Writing
My older brother and his family came to the mountains from their home on the coast of South Carolina for spring break. Of course, dogwood winter showed up to greet them with a blast of cold air that pretty well froze their thin, southern blood! Nevertheless, we got...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Apr 11, 2019 | Appalachian, Food, Nature
It’s ramp season once again! The patch on my neighbor’s property is flourishing. I dug a few ramps Sunday and added a few to a tomato and avocado relish last night in place of green onions. That’s my preferred way to use them–as a seasoning or...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Apr 8, 2019 | Food, Friends, History
This past Saturday I had a chance to travel to the 1700s French & Indian War at Ft. Dobbs near Statesville, NC. Friends of mine are reenactors who planned to attend the War for Empire weekend with their Dragonfly Traders tent. Lorraine offered to outfit me. Well,...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Mar 14, 2019 | Appalachian, Food, Memories, Nature
It’s officially the time of year when seed catalogs become irresistible. I pore over gaudy pictures of corn with luxurious silks, scandalously red tomatoes, strawberries glinting like jewels, and squash that make me wonder why I don’t eat vegetables ALL...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Feb 21, 2019 | Appalachian, Food, Nature
Vermont gets most of the maple syrup press, but Appalachia produces it’s fair share of the sticky, sweet stuff. West Virginia has 75 or so farms producing more than 2,500 gallons of syrup in a given year. And February into March is harvest season. The trick is...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 24, 2019 | Appalachian, Food, Writing
A reviewer recently commented that she really enjoyed one of my books but took issue with my use of you’uns instead of y’all. Now, in both of our defenses, I’d like to point out that she thought the story was set in Wise, Virginia. Now, that’s...
