my-ancient-home

[my-ancient-home]

The view from field lodge north

[my-ancient-home]

Ah yes, my favorite songwriter

[my-ancient-home]

tumblr is, if anything, the Appalachia of social media...easy to get lost, sparsely populated, out of the loop with fast-moving modern trends. Attached to tradition. Close-knit communities. Believe in "talk shit, get hit." Everyone is doing their own thing in their own obscure little holler. Prone to pulling the most inventive turns of phrase you've ever heard out of nowhere. Somebody's always starting a racket. We sometimes repel outsiders with much aggression. Lots of talk about hell and damnation to be found. Everybody tends to forget about us for some reason

[my-ancient-home]

and I turn in April's stomach

[my-ancient-home]

STOP LETTING THEM DESTROY OUR MOUNTAINS!!!!!!!

Since 1966, MTR mining (mountain top removal mining) as destroyed 500 mountains in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky mostly (as well as Tennessee but that’s only a small portion)

MAKE THIS STOP!

[my-ancient-home]

BAN MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL MINING!!!!!!!!!!

BAN MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL MINING!!!!!!!!!!

BAN MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL MINING!!!!!!!!!!

[my-ancient-home]

[my-ancient-home]

"A section of the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut becomes a wedding aisle for a couple marching beneath an arch of ice axes."

National Geographic - June, 1972

[my-ancient-home]

the weather lady on cnn just said "appalaysha" with full confidence and i viscerally recoiled into my very soul

[my-ancient-home]

[my-ancient-home]

Legends of Appalachian Christmas:

Appalachian legends have been passed down from generation to generation. Deep in the Appalachian mountains, many of these legends and superstitions still play a role in the Christmas season.

•In the mountains of Appalachia in the late 1800’s, children began to write letters to Santa and then they would burn the letters in the fireplace so fairies could carry their message up the chimney to Santa Claus.

•Many farmers believe that the weather on Christmas Day forecasts the coming year. If Christmas Day is warm a cold Easter follows. If Christmas is green a white Easter will happen. Lastly, a windy Christmas means a good season for crops.

•Single girls who visit a hog pen at midnight on Christmas Eve will discover the type of man that they will marry. If an old hog grunt first, she will marry an old man. If a young pig grunts first, her husband will be young and handsome

Christmas Day:

•Any loaves of bread and cakes made on Christmas Day have healing abilities. Many would preserve these baked goods so they could be used to cure illnesses throughout the year.

•Hearing a cat meow on Christmas Day causes evil spirits to visit you throughout the new year.

•Christmas Day visits to neighbors’ houses required the visitors to eat a piece of stack cake or mince pie to ensure good luck. Visits from twelve neighbors ensure good luck for the whole year.

•No one does Christmas like we do in Appalachia. Our traditions make us who we are and make our Christmas seasons unique, treasured and unforgettable!

Many Appalachian traditions can be traced back to the Scots-Irish pioneers who settled the mountain landscape. In the olden days, young people would celebrate Christmas by loudly participating in activities like setting bonfires and going serenading, which involved shooting guns and firecrackers as well as singing.

Scottish settlers also brought fruitcake to the Appalachian region. It is traditionally made of fruits, nuts, and Scottish whiskey. Fruitcake is still often made and given as a gift throughout Appalachia.

(Unknown)

[my-ancient-home]

American Nowhere, Vol. 17

[my-ancient-home]

Grip me with your

teeth,

let your tongue clean the

wound.

I will trade my blood for

your ecstacy.

-Seth McCall-Pontius

[my-ancient-home]

(Possibly in Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Maine, photo by Nathan Elias, as usual)

[my-ancient-home]

Massachusetts Taconics in mid October b&w <photos by Nathan Elias>

[my-ancient-home]

October in Appalachia.

[my-ancient-home]

Appalachia in its entirety

Map of Appalachian subranges (I consider Appalachia to be anything in the Appalachian Mountains so; Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama)