STORIES FROM THE
HILLSIDE AND HOLLER
Latest stories
I collected my hickory nuts a little late this year. Hickory nuts and Grandma Lillian came into my life around the same time. She wasn’t my blood grandma, but she surely was my heart grandma. Grandma Lillian was like that . . . adopting grandchildren in whatever manner they came, birth, adoption, marriage, or stray. You would never know that granny-ing didn’t come so easy for her. Read more
Our Flowering Almond is tucked into the scrubby undergrowth on our hillside. I first noticed the petals among the pine needles. I looked up and it’s beauty stopped me. The simple pink blossom deserved a moment of admiration. Read more
Last week I did a quick turn in my yard and soon had five wild greens for a spring tonic. Eating wild greens in early spring is spiritual rite to me . . . a transaction between me and Mother Earth. Read more
For me, Easter comes in sensory bursts, a film-reel of color and sound, flashes of scents, tastes, and textures . . . a compilation of memories that I pull out each year. Read more
I have a deep love for trees. They fascinate me and calm me. I feel protected when surrounded by them and laid bare when I’m not. I have a need to study them, feel their bark, lean against them, sit under them. I’ve been this way as long as I can remember. Read more
Grandma Earlene didn’t talk about the past much. It was like she didn’t want to waste time looking back, she wanted to look forward. So when we walked out the dirt road, we’d talk about the trees that surrounded us, about me and my doin’s, and all about living a good life. Read more
Grandpa Jake’s life was full of work...from sun-up to sun-down, from the day he could walk to the day he couldn't. He provided for his own children, a handful of grandchildren, and even a great-grandchild or two... all from the rocky soil of a mountain top farm in West Virginia. Read more
I’m using these found sandstones to get the walk directed to the right angle. They are fairly even in thickness with clean edges. My favorite wading creek has fair riches of them, a gift from the earth and the running water. Read more