The Cockles of my Heart

(photo courtesy of Suzanne McMinn)

I left a post at Chickens in the Road the other day that her blog warmed the "Cockles of my Heart!" You know, that deep place that reminds you of your childhood and makes you all warm and fuzzy. I found her blog the other day and since then I have about run out of printer ink copying recipes and good ideas. Suzanne McMinn's blog is an unassuming look into her back in the boonies West Virgina life. She proudly tells us she accepts "free apples" from the Farmer's Market, then shows us how to can them or freeze them or dehydrate them. Picture by picture, she shows how to recycle to make new candles from old, how to make our own seed starting pots from toilet paper rolls, and decorating tips like walk outside and look around for something Mother Nature has provided FREE OF CHARGE! I was so mesmerized by the sheer knowledge at the site I almost missed the sidebar info that also told me she writes paperbacks...and a column for the Charleston Daily Newspaper...and a fascinating interview that was on Public Radio. My favorite thing about the blog, this is HARD since it's chocked full of recipes and crafts, is the daily life on the farm. We can drink in the deliciousness of farm life! She lets the chickens and ducks out of their pen and they run as fast as their little legs can take them straight away down to the meadow where all the bugs are waiting! Her barnyard has real life characters; Nutmeg and Clover the miniature goats, Pepsi the fainting goat (he now has two new brides, Fanta and Sprite), Pocahontas the miniature donkey, Annabelle who looks just like Mary's Little Lamb, Giant Puppy and Mean Rooster. He dominates, or tries to dominate the blog. I'd be housebound if that rooster got after me, he's scary looking. Many people suggest that he become "one with soup" but Suzanne isn't going to do that.


The journey that brought her to this West Virginia mountain will keep you on the edge of your seat, begging for more! Run, don't walk to Chickens in the Road for a homegrown, down home look into Appalachian farm life!