by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Feb 1, 2018 | Appalachian, Memories, Nature
Last week I wrote about how we burned much of our trash growing up. Then, on Saturday, we had a soft rainy day with no wind–a perfect brush burning day! Brush piles were simply something that had to be dealt with periodically on the farm. Clearing the pasture,...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 18, 2018 | Appalachian, dogs, Family, Memories, Nature, Reading, Writing
We had a snow day yesterday–a couple of inches of the white stuff, hardly anyone venturing out, bacon for breakfast, and a good book to read (not to mention one to write!). Ahhhhh. When I was a kid, of course, snow days were a bit more exciting. And in West Virginia...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 11, 2018 | Appalachian, Family, Nature
I thought it was a joke. I’d seen a few internet-type things referencing “raw water,” but paid them little mind. Then, on the morning news, they did an entire segment on this new trend. Seriously? The idea is to drink spring water that hasn’t...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Dec 28, 2017 | Appalachian, Friends, Hiking, History, Nature, Writing
I love it when I describe something in one of my novels that I can clearly picture and THEN find that what I described actually exists. In Miracle in a Dry Season Casewell cleans out an old spring with a catch basin. Guess what my husband found in the woods on the...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Dec 14, 2017 | Appalachian, dogs, Family, Memories, Nature
Last Friday’s forecast of 1-3 inches of snow morphed into almost a foot. Suddenly, we had a full-blown snow day on our hands. Schools closed, there was a run on bread and milk, and a few unlucky folks ended up in the ditch. I went home and took my dog out into...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 5, 2017 | Appalachian, Hiking, Nature, Thistle
Mud boots, gum boots, rain boots, rubbers, wellies, or, you know, plain ole rubber boots. I don’t suppose they’re uniquely Appalachian, but they certainly are ubiquitous to every mountain farm I’ve ever set foot upon. Some evenings, when I’m...
