The Midland Agrarian: I have been busier than normal

Thursday, August 20, 2009

I have been busier than normal

We just finished the first Appleseed event at our farm, It was a great success. You can read about it here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Good evening,

I simply wanted to write to tell you how very much I enjoy your writings; they are truly fascinating and informative. We share some strong similarities in world view and we too (my own lovely wife and I) are working hard to make our Virginia homestead "work".

All the best to you and your family.

Mike; August 28, 2009 at 8:44 PM
The Midland Agrarian said...: Thanks Mike,
I am glad when somebody finds something I write informative or interesting.; August 29, 2009 at 8:43 PM

Why the Midland Agrarian?

Cultural geographers and students of dialect call the great area of the Ohio valley, upper South and lower Midwest the "midlands of the US". The midland dialect around here includes words such as "redding" for cleaning up our rooms, the "Crick" where we get fish or swim, "youns" for plural "you" and "warshing" for the laundry. Cultural artifacts from the midlands include forebay barns.

Western Pennsylvania was also once a part of the "middle ground" between the Great Lakes and the main portion of the Ohio Valley.

I chose the name "midland" agrarian to distinguish between the many fine southern agrarian writers (Like Wendell Berry), and the truly northern agrarian writers, like Russell Kirk and Eric Sloane. This was not an attempt to place myself in their company, but to recognize the unique aspects of my home country, which I love.