To two West Virginia bloggers who inspire me, I say a bright good morning and big “thank you” for your influence.
W. Va. Fur and Root combines a love of the natural world with a healthy skepticism about people. The writer is well-read, loves food and wine, and is passionately loyal to her friends and family. She reminds me of the old saying, “I won’t start a fight, but I’ll finish it.” She’s willing to be intentionally vulnerable, and as such is always strong. The humor is righteous, and the world she creates online is magical.
I wrote this of Connie in December 2009 and it still holds: “I’ve come to believe her personal hideway is a corner of my own mind, a room where I can really go from time to time to both escape my own realities as well as find comfort in our shared human experiences.”
Where else can you find Faulkner, barns, pop culture and accountability in spades? Maybe one other place…
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
May I present The Goat Rope. There is a degree to which it would be a crime to attempt to explain this blog. One really should experience it on it’s own terms, and I hope you will. I just popped over there for a visit and saw this line: “One reason I’ve been strip mining Thoreau’s Walden these days is…..” This is totally normal talk for Rick, and I love him for it.
On this blog, you will grow to anticipate Quaker theology, marial arts, razor wit and deep mellowness blended with a fierce and bright-burning quest for justice.
It might be a coincidence that both of these writers live on rural land, co-exist with animals and gardens, read like most people breathe, and have not an ounce of pretense or charade. But I’m paying attention, just in case there is something to it.
Esse Diem 
Those are two of my favorites also!
Connie and Rick are the reason I blog. Rick was the first I followed, and Connie kept after me to keep writing. Rick taught me the importance of being respectful yet fearless and writing every day; also that more things are connected than meets the eye.
Connie kept after me to keep writing. She encouraged me with online recognition and awards and positive feedback, and though Rick got me started I believe Connie is why I’m still here. She taught me the incredible value in communicating to others that they should keep on, keep going, that someone is paying attention. I am truly grateful for both of them.
Oh my. I’ve admired Rick since I heard him speak about the Listening Project years ago. And now I’m in the same paragraph with him. I’m going to be insufferably puffed up with pride and not fit to live with. (Thanks, darlin’ and keep writing.)
Why thank you! I’m a big fan of WV Fur and Root and Esse Diem.
No thank YOU. 🙂