This is an idea that I’ve mulled over for a decade, and I’m finally doing it: writing publicly about rural life, land, and what connects us to place.
I grew up in rural Indiana, and over the years I’ve realized how few spaces exist to explore rural place with nuance, especially from someone who lived it, left it, returned to it, wrestled with it, and still feels tethered to it.
I’ll be writing about agriculture and land-based work, rural culture, history and memory, storytelling through cartography, and the questions that come with it. Sometimes I’ll reflect on books or music, tools and technologies, and sometimes just share personal reflections.
This space is part field notes and part front porch, where observation meets conversation. Some posts will be longer, others shorter; some more polished, while others might be more chicken scratch. I’ll occasionally share photos and GIS maps, and I’ll be figuring it out as I go. This is the seed and I’m still not sure what kind of crop it’ll grow.
If you’ve found your way here, thanks for being curious about what’s beyond the back 40. I hope you’ll stick around. You can subscribe to get new posts in your inbox or just drop in now and then.
And if you’ve got a story about place, land, and rural life— My front porch is open. I’d love to hear it.