https://lonesomeholler.org/ Recent content on Lonesome Holler Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us https://lonesomeholler.org/10-thistles-shall-it-bring-forth/ Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/10-thistles-shall-it-bring-forth/ To Graft It’s cold out. The sun might make an appearance today, but February doesn’t often allow it. With knife and rubber boots, a hike takes me to the five-year-old mother tree. My stiffened fingers fumbling, I unfold the icy blade. Carefully carving, green skin breaks into white bone. I remove a dozen year-old branch tips with two or three good buds. I wrap them with plastic and return to the house to shove them into the crisper drawer under a bag of wilted lettuce. https://lonesomeholler.org/09-the-beggar-and-the-strange-mirror/ Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/09-the-beggar-and-the-strange-mirror/ The Hunger If you have a granny still living in their old home with the shag carpet and the wood paneling on the walls, a small kitchen with vinyl flooring, a low TV set, and frilly white curtains, then you are likely familiar with a particular location in their home by the front door or in the living room. A small table upon which you will find the family bible(s) and on the wall behind the table an array of family photos, past and present. https://lonesomeholler.org/08-hollow-hills-of-the-ozark-mountains/ Sun, 05 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/08-hollow-hills-of-the-ozark-mountains/ The light looks different now. Old man winter’s shadow is stretching long across the rocky clay. As the days shorten, the veil between seasons grows thin and the Ozarks reveal their deeper architecture buried beneath the rolling hills and timber. Original Art by the Lonesome Holler Artist The Underground Kingdom The Ozarks sit atop a giant skeleton, the remnants of an ancient sea. The ancient waters left a thick layer of limestone and dolomite beneath the hills. https://lonesomeholler.org/07-living-lanterns-of-sticky-summer/ Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/07-living-lanterns-of-sticky-summer/ Few institutions are more sacred to Ozark summers than the local swimming hole. Before air conditioning, these pools provided the only reliable relief from crushing summer heat. Some of these pools were spring-fed, but most are deep-cut bends in creeks. Every community has its own legendary swimming spot, often with colorful names: Devil’s Bathtub, Moonshine Beach, or Gar Hole. The best holes combine deep, cool water with sun-warmed rocks for diving and lounging. https://lonesomeholler.org/06-morels-and-memory/ Sun, 06 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/06-morels-and-memory/ For generations, Ozarkers have participated in the annual ritual of “huntin’ mushrooms” during the spring season. This tradition usually involves highly secretive locations where each hunter has their source of the widely sought morel mushroom. The amount of information about finding these elusive fungi varies widely and can sometimes be intentionally deceptive. During the height of the season, morels are not only prized by the hunters for their own consumption, but also because they fetch top dollar, fresh, in fancy cuisine. https://lonesomeholler.org/05-feasts-fasts-and-forgotten-rythms/ Mon, 06 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/05-feasts-fasts-and-forgotten-rythms/ Happy new year! We are officially one quarter of the way through the 21st century. I’ve been contemplating the importance of the calendar to our lives in the 21st century. It appears to me that the role of calendar has transformed drastically over the past 100 years for the worse. We have gone from referring to the calendar to referring to my calendar, shifting the emphasis away from the shared celebrations and realities of the seasons of our immediate locale, to the moments we value on a individual basis. https://lonesomeholler.org/04-wild-hogs-and-desperate-nights/ Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/04-wild-hogs-and-desperate-nights/ Local Lexicon ornery: Inferior, mean, or worthless. When applied to a human, ornery, generally means lazy, shiftless, and ill-tempered. — Vance Randolph, Down in the Holler Original Art by the Lonesome Holler Artist Mountain Canticle Another song from England that made its way across the sea to these hills, Handsome Molly, is the story of a sailor who find himself far from his sweetheart. A simple and memorable tune, this song likely arose sometime in the late 1700s but has remained in the US to this day in old-time, bluegrass, and folk music circles. https://lonesomeholler.org/03-feathered-caravans-of-the-ozarks/ Sat, 02 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/03-feathered-caravans-of-the-ozarks/ Local Lexicon Arkansawyer: A native of Arkansas. (The newspapers often print Arkansan, but no one hears a hillman pronounce it to rhyme with Kansan.) — Vance Randolph, Down in the Holler Original Art by the Lonesome Holler Artist Mountain Canticle One familiar with mountain music quickly becomes aware of a strong theme present in which the singer tells a story of their life’s downfall all caused by the over-indulgence in the consumption of liquor. https://lonesomeholler.org/02-phantom-flames-of-the-borderlands/ Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/02-phantom-flames-of-the-borderlands/ Local Lexicon Yarb Doctor: Noun, proper. An herbalist or naturopath who uses native medicinal and edible plants, tonics, tinctures, and poultices and to treat medical aches, pains, and disease. Used to be common among the Ozark mountains due to a lack of readily available modern healthcare. The word “yarb” is merely an alternate pronunciation of the word “herb”. — Vance Randolph, Down in the Holler Original Art by the Lonesome Holler Artist Mountain Canticle This song originated in America, written as a hymn by Charles Wesley. https://lonesomeholler.org/01-garbage-into-gold/ Sun, 01 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/01-garbage-into-gold/ Howdy Welcome to the first issue of Lonesome Holler, a newsletter about rural life in the Ozark mountains both past and present. The following letter will follow a pattern on a monthly basis covering a wide array of topics each meant to be a quick and enjoyable read. The content herein will be sourced from local wisdom, old memories, books, and friends (with credit of course). Not being a practiced writer, the following issues of Lonesome Holler are bound to change in their format as I learn what works and what doesn’t. https://lonesomeholler.org/about/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/about/ A collection of writings about a place’s practices, people, and what’s owed its dead. Written by the graft. A seeker of a lost holler’s heirloom seeds, morel spots unknown, and a dog that actually minds. Lonesome Holler witnesses the clannish, contemplative, and convivial life worn thin, deep in the Ozark Mountains. Holler noun. A hollow, a narrow valley, a cove. verb. To shout, as to get attention. https://lonesomeholler.org/archive/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/archive/ Earlier work, put here to keep dry. https://lonesomeholler.org/contact/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/contact/ Corrections, arguments, and family stories especially. https://lonesomeholler.org/library/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://lonesomeholler.org/library/