Every January I take a look back at what I’ve written during the course of the previous year. I’m always surprised by the various subjects I wrote about, many of which have completely fallen through the cracks of my mind by year end.
Below you can see some of my favorite posts from 2025. If you’d like to visit any of them click on the colored word link.
Rime Covered Mountains – January 14, 2025
I’m still in awe of the beauty of those high peaks clothed in frozen garments found in the photo I shared from the Southern Appalachian Digital Collections.
Once enlarged you can see amazing details like the corn stalks in the field and the individual trees and bushes on the ridges surrounding the house. Just to the right of the corn are two crosses.
Fingerprints of Pap – February 1, 2025
Seeing Pap’s fingerprints here and there on this land brings me great joy. There’s also fingerprints of other family who’ve long gone on. I hope my descendants find joy in the ones I will leave.
Great Grandmother’s Apron – February 4, 2025
I love wearing Dollie’s apron. I don’t know why I waited so long to actually use it, might be that I had to get to a place in life where I could truly enjoy the practicality of it as well as the significance of caring for my family in the same way Dollie did while wearing her apron.
Girls to Elderly Women – July 11, 2025
I’m so thankful Mary and Granny got to visit with each other. They had such a good time! Knowing it would be the last time they get to see each other face to face on this side of Jordan made it a powerful experience to watch.
Come in from Work – July 15, 2025
As usual I wrote about the rich colorful language of Appalachia often during the year. This was my favorite post about dialect. It’s a phrase that feels like a warm soft blanket to my ears and heart.
No Place Like Home – October 7, 2025
My favorite part:
If I lived that far from Brasstown I’d still be in Appalachia, but I wouldn’t be right here in Wilson holler where I was born and raised. Where the very shape of the ridges are familiar and the trees feel like old friends. Where the creek whispers of days gone by and days to come. And just like Opal I’d certainly long to come back to my homeplace.
Like Ginns and Opal I was blessed to have a good home. Times were certainly different from the days they were raised with snow coming in through the cracks and hard times for the kitchen table, yet there were still struggles in Pap and Granny’s house.
Money was always lacking, but somehow we got by with more than enough. Like most families there were ups and downs. But whether we were up on the mountain or down in the valley there was always a lot of love. We depended on each other to pitch in and help with making a garden, house work, or whatever else needed doing. Because of that dependency we were close enough to one another to share joy and heartache and we were all the richer for it.
Appalachia Through My Eyes – Names for the Future – October 14, 2025
During 2025 we built a shed that we’ve been planning for 30 years 🙂 It’s almost finished. The shed and the concrete poured for support are fingerprints of Matt’s that I hope will be here for a good long time.
Music has been a weekly offering here on the Blind Pig since I first started. Here’s my favorite music posts from 2025.
Cross the Brazos at Waco – March 23, 2025
Although the song is about a place I’ve never seen nor probably never will I just love Paul’s version.
I’ve Got a Mansion Just Over the Hilltop – April 6, 2025
I never hear this old song without thinking of Granny’s family. They loved to sing it. Hearing Paul and Granny sing it is bittersweet. Granny is the last member of her immediate family still living. I know it won’t be long before she joins the others.
Almost Persuaded – July 6, 2025
I grew up with Pap and his brother singing this old gospel song. It was on the first recording they made. I’m glad Katie and Corie learned it. I think their harmony is both lovely and chilling.
Thank you for being with me during the year of 2025. I hope you enjoyed the look back.
Last night’s video: The Panther on Cold Mountain & Other Stories 8.
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
Looking forward to more Appalachia in my inbox in 2026!
Oh Tipper the pictures are wonderful! I remember seeing most of them! Thank you for sharing them again!
A few minutes I looked out the dining room window and saw a yard full of snowbirds. I don’t know what kind of bird these little gray and black creatures are but they often show up as a predecessor of your favorite wintertime phenomenon. I’m not officially predicting snow, maybe my minute feathered friends are there all the time and I don’t notice them, but I’m not denying it either. Do you have birds in your yard!
Ed, no but I wish they were 🙂
Might be Juncos
I looked it up and that appears to be what they are. I have seen them all my life but only when a threat of snow is present. Is that a coincidence or do they move with the fronts that bring snow?
Enjoyed your reading last night.
As always praying for Granny.
Sandra Harrison, I have just saw your reply from yesterday, I said near Princeton, I lived about 2 miles off Hwy 25 sorta in behind Twin Chimneys landfill. When going to the Trinity Ridge vet, I come out at Buck’s car lot to get to Hwy 76. I am very familiar with the Bargin Store but am no longer able to go to the jockey lot/ flea market because of my arthritis knees and legs. Did you know the older Avon lady (Thelma) at Hickory Tavern? She was my wife’s aunt and has now passed away.
These are all so beautiful and special. I am a new acorn and am blessed by your writing and posts and the comments of others each day. The shed story made me smile. I have to wonder if writing your name,children’s handprints and footprints is more common to the southern mountains of Appalachia. We had moved away to the largest city in NC for years. My neighbors there were just flummoxed at this practice when we had fresh concrete poured at our house in the city. Said they’d never seen or heard of such.Was it just our neighbors or is it regional?Our family had always done this. Anyway,we retired and moved back home to the mountains with family. My homeplace still has my name, my footprints, and handprints from when I was two years old in the back sidewalk at my grandparent’s porch. I remember my grandpa sitting on that same back porch singing ” I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop.” Indeed he does.
Looking back and memories are just the sweetest thing – bringing those times and our people with us from ‘then’ to the ‘now.’ Warms the heart, even if it also can bring some tears. I read once about memories: I didn’t realize that the laughter would also bring tears, or that the tears would also bring laughter.’ Now isn’t that the truth! I love this yearly look back you do Tipper and remember reading and/or listening to those posts. I especially liked the top picture again of that little home in the middle of a corn field and all it depicted from the corn and garden area, the grave markers, the mountains, and so forth. Such a treasure lode is being made by you & Matt, for those sweet boys to look back and remember when. Blessings and prayers to each of you. May the Lord of all comfort and peace surround and wrap Granny in His tender arms each day.
Wanita, that is the truth 🙂
Thank you for sharing all of these precious memories! You and your sweet family are such a blessing. Continued prayers for Granny.
I really enjoyed todays post. I went back a read each one. Especially loved Paul’s song about Waco. He has such a
Beautiful voice. Have a good weekend everyone!
Thank you Tipper for all the wonderful writings. My 96 year old Mother and I live all your YouTube videos. Keep them coming Hope you get some snow this winter!
In my comment I said I liked the post about your mama and her sister. I meant to say her niece. Oops. but they were like sisters anyway.
Brenda they were more like sisters 🙂
What beautiful, precious memories of 2025! I too see the fingerprints of my late husband on everything around me. Every time I walk outside, I see things and projects that we did together over the more than 50 years on this property. That’s one of the main reasons I want to stay her in our home for as long as I can. Once I have to move away those will all be gone for me.
Prayers for you & your family in 2026 and special prayers for Granny as she is comforted by our Lord.
Nicki, everywhere I go around here be it home, stores, or the area towns, I see fingerprints/memories of things I did with my wife. Between dating and marriage, we were together nearly 50 years. I am glad for the memories but get depressed missing her and knowing there will no more of these memories made with her on earth. This is a big reason for my depression.
I enjoyed going down memory lane with you! You have a beautiful family!
Prayers for a blessed 2026
Good morning Tipper. I absolutely enjoy all of your posts each morning and all of the songs you share with us, as well. The one in July about your mama and her sister touched me. I love getting together with my sisters. The one that is closer to my age was my best friend growing up. We did everything together. I can still call her anytime I have a problem or good news to share. Sometimes we just tell each other what we’re cooking for supper. We all four, (including my sweet SIL) still giggle like girls when hanging out… even though I am now 65 and they aren’t far behind me. Thank you for the posts and comments that I look forward to each day…like old friends visiting each other.
What a wonderful walk through 2025’s posts, Tipper! I remember these posts with fondness. Your blog greatly enriches my life. I look forward to settling in with a cup of hot coffee and reading it every morning. When I’m able, I often come back later in the day, too, to read the wonderful comments from your faithful subscribers. What a wonderful community you’ve created! Thank you!
Tipper,
I am sitting in our living room watching the snow coming down. After reading your post for 2025, I realized how truly blessed you are. Your post made me remember that all the material things in the world really do not matter. Friendship, memories, and love are the fabric humans are made of. Thank you for sharing and grounding me in what is real. Please keep sharing as we all need a reality check on a daily basis.
All in all it was a good year. Praying 2026 will be good to us too….so far so good.
Randy, the bible says, *”I sleep but my heart waketh”. I’m inclined to think some of our dreams are heart thoughts and pictures. But they way we usually remember them when we awake is as a jumble and we can’t make sense of them. We get snippets. But they won’t make a story we can read end to end. The Lord knows us completely though.
Tipper and all y’all made a good year, as always. BP&A is kinda like a homeplace to us visitors. We don’t have the earth and the view shed but otherwise lots of familiar things.
Ron, I think you wrote something awhile back about us knowing the scriptures of about God being with us during our troubles, trials, and headaches, but because we are humans we still struggle with them. A dear older man at my church came to me after my wife’s death and told me this, we know our Christian love ones are in a better place, but because we are humans it is the ones they leave behind that are suffering. Ron, I enjoy your comments, some of them are almost like a devotion to me. Today is a good example, thank you.
I remembered all of your stories last year and enjoy everyone’s comments. My favorite is the no place like home. I was reading my devotion this year,” Streams in the Desert” this morning, and it reminded me that He is with us always but I feel Him most when I am home. I look around this home of mine and realize that He gave it to me. I know we should not glory in the things we have. They are temporary. But He gave us what we have and what we don’t have, we don’t need. I love the fact that He has also promised us a home in heaven. Thank you Tipper for helping us remember all the wonderful things in this life, given to us by the Lord!
All those were beautiful! ❤️. It brought tears to my eyes because I have an “old soul” too. Maybe it’s time for you to put down your artwork and pick up your pen and write. ✍️. A novel set in Appalachia or a book of short stories based on life in Appalachia. I’d buy it! I can’t find enough of that. Some of my favorites are Sharyn McCrumb, Ann H Gabhart, Catherine Marshall and more of course. You have a real talent with words. . Prayers.
Very sweet
Call me prejudice but when thinking of “Mansion Over The Hill Top,” I think of my sister in law singing “Build My Mansion.”She would often get requestioned to sing this at our church, when she did there wouldn’t be a dry eye, including the preacher. My favorite was for her to sing “Where The Roses Never Fade”, I asked her to sing this at my funeral, but she won’t be able to do it, she died on December 2, 2016 from a very rare brain disease- family was told only 350 worldwide cases known about. You could say when she sang these two songs they had now been sung! The last song she ever sang was “Sheltered In The Arms Of God” her way of telling us to not worry about her.
Good morning Tipper, Matt and Acorns. TY Tipper for this look back. every post has meant so much to me. I don’t get out of the house much any more. I walk to the mailbox and around the trailer for exercise. I pick blueberries and raspberries. This past year I made a tiny garden along the ditch by the road. All that gardening you do made me want to try it once more. This year I hope that the LORD will want me grow lots of red bell peppers to make your soup. It was so lovely and they are one of the few things I can eat on this kidney diet. I absolutely love the song “Just Over The Hilltop”. I miss singing with the church. I love hearing Paul’s music. TY Paul and Granny and your whole family. I praise the LORD for every thing in my life. None of it is bad, GOD don’t do bad. Everything is to HIS glory and purpose. Isn’t it amazing to know that each of us are used to fulfill his plan for our world. It’s kind of like a jigsaw puzzle and every time one of us accepts The FATHER, SON and HOLY GHOST into our lives another piece of HIS puzzle finds its place. I keep all the Acorns and the Folks up Wilson Hollow in my prayers. I love y’all.
Barbara its a blessing to read your post.
Those are some wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing your life with all of us. Your blog makes me remember all the time spent in those Appalachian mountains with my family. Some of the most wonderful times of my life with the people who were and are so dear to me. I’m so thankful for Jesus in Heaven for giving us the opportunity to be together again with Him and all those we love. He is so good.. all the time!
I’m gonna have to go back and look again at some of those posts.
God bless Granny and Mary, I have a flower sack apron, I think you’ve seen it Tipper, God bless you very much, please continue to pray for us, thank you and God bless you very much, I’m currently taking antibiotics, the ENT doctor, seems to think my neck pain and swallowing pain is related to my dental infection, please continue to pray, thank you for praying for my brother that has cancer, God bless you very much
Norman, I hope the antibiotics help and I will keep praying!
What a great collection of 2025 posts.
I’ve got a mansion over the hilltop was one song we sang several times a day when I attended Bible to Youth Camp in the summers when I was 9 to 15 years old. Our Baptist church would take a van of us during the early seventies for a week to stay in cabins to enjoy a week of camping that was focused on the Bible. Wow this brings back good memories. Thanks for waking up that 55 year old memory.
I remember everyone of these posts. I know where there is a home in my area very similar to looking to the one in the picture of the rime covered mountains. It is falling down, but I never pass by it without wishing I had a home like it with a few modern day conveniences. Yesterday morning an outhouse would have been torture! I dearly love the two hymns mentioned and have or see things that remind me of ones that have passed on. I ought not to write this, but it kinda goes along with loved ones passed on, I just woke up from dreaming about my wife being back with me and how happy I was to have her back, it was just like she had been away on a long trip. My mind and emotions are a basket case without her, I guess even when sleeping I am somehow thinking of her. Even writing I am sorry for writing this makes me think of her, she would sometimes tease me when I would say this to her and tell me “lowdown too.”
God bless you Randy!