If you follow my blog and/or my Facebook page you know that I spend time tromping around in the woods almost every day. In theory, I’m taking Thistle for a walk, but I also just love being in the woods. Which is not to say they’re a perfectly safe place to be. It isn’t theContinue reading “Appalachian Thursday – Shin Rippers”
Category Archives: Hiking
Appalachian Thursday – Fleeting Summer
I’ve loved Robert Frost’s poem Nothing Gold Can Stay since I first saw The Outsiders movie. I think that’s the hardest I’ve ever cried at a movie. The poem is so gorgeously bittersweet. To me, it’s always spoken of that moment in autumn when nature is at it’s most perfect. You just want to seizeContinue reading “Appalachian Thursday – Fleeting Summer”
Appalachian Thursday – Sang Hunting
While in West Virginia last weekend my brother showed me some ginseng plants. He was checking them to see if they had seeds he could plant to spur future growth. He gathered up the red fruit with seeds inside and sowed them in a new spot. Seeds need 18+ months to germinate so if we’reContinue reading “Appalachian Thursday – Sang Hunting”
My Appalachia video
There’s SO much I love about the Appalachian mountains. Here’s the first of what I hope are many videos sharing some of the wonders of my mountain home with you.
Appalachian Thursday – Wild Critters
There are people who have never seen an animal in the wild. Oh, maybe a city squirrel or some pigeons, but I’d argue they’re not really wild. My mountains are a veritable zoo of wildlife. Just yesterday Thistle and I encountered a teenage bear on our evening hike. She was easily persuaded to abandon theContinue reading “Appalachian Thursday – Wild Critters”
Time to Complain About the Heat
Ah, June. Those days of complaining about how cold it is are well behind us. Mild spring days have wound down. Some afternoon it’s even getting . . . hot. While the first true day of summer may not be until June 21, school is out this week, I’m going bare-legged in skirts and dresses,Continue reading “Time to Complain About the Heat”
How Real Should Writers Get?
We’ve all read those novels. You know the ones. The heroine has been riding in a covered wagon for two months when she meets the dashing cowboy who saves the wagon train. He finds her lovely in spite of the fact that she hasn’t washed her hair since late winter and it’s now well intoContinue reading “How Real Should Writers Get?”
Appalachian Thursday – A Spring Walk
We’re fortunate to live just a mile from Pisgah National Forest. Almost every day after work I head to the woods for a hike with Thistle. On the weekends, my husband comes along and we go even further afield. Hiking not only provides Thistle and I with exercise, it also gives me a break fromContinue reading “Appalachian Thursday – A Spring Walk”
Appalachian Thursday – Spring Peepers
My favorite spring symphony. And yes, they DID stop peeping shortly after I stopped talking. Ornery little frogs. Do you have spring peepers where you live?
Helping to Rescue Smokey Bear
In The Sound of Rain my hero, Judd, is shown a 1950s poster of Smokey Bear. His boss–who is also my heroine’s father–wants Judd to serve as a sort of liaison with the forest service in their efforts to preserve forests. Although I only mention the poster and Smokey in passing, it was fun toContinue reading “Helping to Rescue Smokey Bear”
