Howdy from the Hills! My Steemit Introduction.steemCreated with Sketch.

My life has been one with many detours and dead ends. I've climbed a lot of hills, literally and metaphorically. Now I'm here. I learned about Steemit by chance. A friend @pallmaul started sharing his posts on Facebook. I'm a sucker for a good pocket knife story so I checked it out.  I've been looking for something different and Steemit is definitely that. Another friend @tommyinthesun has been a huge help in the process of getting set up on here. While I was waiting for account authorization, he posted an article I had written to help give me a little boost.  The article was about the recent medical marijuana bill that was introduced in the Kentucky Legislature. I'll be posting an updated version soon. Tommy has been willing to answer all my questions and guide me through the process. I can't thank him enough.  Waiting for my authorization had me anxious, but the six days went by quicker than I figured it would. I've been fascinated by the concept of Steemit and am eager to get going. I hope this introduction post gives you an idea of who I am and what I am about. I have ideas for future posts that I think at least a few people will benefit from. 

Here I am: Farmer, Potter, Cook, Herbalist, and Father 

Me and a good friend butchered our first pig this day. We both put 50+ pounds of meat in the freezer.

This is where I'm from

  High Rock on Pine Mountain in Letcher County, Kentucky

28 miles slightly Northwest of this spot on the Cumberland Plateau you'll find the head of the Licking River and the southern tip of Magoffin County. I have moved a lot in my life, but one place in particular has had a strong impact on my life... 

Going up Cripple Creek, going in a run

This sign has been stolen so many times the Highway Department stopped replacing it. 

Of all the places I've lived this is the one that shaped me the most. My love for soil, clay, and the creek was born here. Days spent wading and swimming in the Big Deep Hole, climbing up to the High Rocks, and playing out back in the pines are still the most sentimental memories I have.  Cripple Creek has manage to avoid the intense development that most other places have seen and is one of the healthiest watersheds in the county. But I can't say that will last. 

Carrying on a farming heritage

This is my first Garden from way back in 2008. I helped my Maw when we lived on Cripple Creek, and I had raised some watermelons the year before, but this garden was .5 acre. Me and my dad hooked an old horse-drawn plow to a fourwheeler to turn the soil.  We had the worst drought I had ever seen that year, so I kept everything alive with horse manure tea I had brewed in the barn. It's been almost  10 years since then and I've gained quite a bit of experience. Spring is on the way and I have plans for my most ambitious venture yet. 

Wild edible and medicinal plants

A young Cucumber root  Medeola virginiana

After living on Cripple creek, I moved to place called Paddle Creek. I lived there all through high school.  I had a neighbor named Joe Russel who taught me how to find different plants that grew in the hills around my house, and how to use them as medicine. When he healed a deep cut in my foot using powdered goldenseal root, I went out and bought a Peterson Field Guide. I would study the guide for hours then hit the hills looking for the leaf patterns I had burned into my memory. I've used what I learned over the years to teach several workshops and to take groups of people on guided tours. Most of the workshops were taught at annual Growing Appalachia conferences, hosted by the Floyd County chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. 



Ceramic work

Soda fired tea set

Back on Cripple creek, I found a vein of pure clay in a road cut that went to an old cemetery. I use to dig clay from there and sculpt heads from it. I would leave them to dry in the sun and they'd turn a chalky white. I knew that I wanted to work with clay someday and I got my chance while I was at Morehead State University. This tea set is from 2011. I have some more stuff from that year to share later. I've not had a studio space since 2015, but if everything goes right, I'll have a wheel by this summer. 

Here is a link to a short documentary I'm in that was produced by by the Appalachia Media Institute.  My segments are spaced throughout the video, but I'm far from the most interesting person featured. 


From the holler to the streets

This is me at I Love Mountains Day on the steps of the Kentucky Statehouse in Frankfort. I gave a speech in front 1,200 people about why we need to end surface coal mining and about the potential that exists in the hills of East Kentucky. I got involved with environmental activism back in 2006 when I visited a mountaintop removal coal mine in Knott County KY, but I got my first experience as a child when my great aunt Toad helped form a group to stop a landfill from coming into Magoffin County. They won. I attended my first rally in 2003 at a May Day Marijuana March in Paducah.  I haven't been very active in the last couple years for a bunch of reasons, but I am scheduled to speak at the Appalachian Studies Association's annual conference this spring, and I was also a leading voice in a union effort at my former job as a cook with Aramark. 

Here is link to an article talking about the union effort:

https://www.nationofchange.org/2015/01/19/fast-food-workers-kentucky-stand-global-billion-dollar-corporation-union-vote/

And here is link to a video of my I Love Mountains Day speech :

My family

I'll end this introduction with a picture of my wife, Lisa, and our two sons, Ezra and Penn. This is photo is a few months old, but it's a good one. I've been married for a little over four years now, and have been a stay at home dad for the last 7 months. Lisa teaches 4th and 5th grade Language Arts.  This a bittersweet picture for me.  Ezra had just recovered from  a severe case of diarrhea that had lasted almost a month and resulted in a hospital stay. The doctors were never able to figure out exactly what caused the infection, but were able to rule out any parasites. Watching my little boy waste away slowly over the weeks really put things in perspective. 

Wrapping it up

I have a  lot of ideas about different topics to discuss here. I plan on digging into my archives of drawings and writings, and sharing my experiences growing up in East Kentucky and how these hills have shaped who I am.  I have some big projects planned for this year the I hope you'll follow along with me.  I'm looking forward to meeting new people and working with you all to help this platform grow and reach the amazing potential it has. Thank's for taking a look.

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Awesome Intro. Glad you're here!

Thank's man. If you have a minute check out my updated article. I added quit a bit of content.

You've had an amazing journey so far! Best of luck on Steemit!

Cody, My husband and I just listened to your speech and I teared up. What truth you speak. I am from Harlan County and know that things CAN change with the right attitude and willingness to put in hard work. The people in the mountains and hollers need more leaders like yourself. It does my heart good to hear your voice as I don't hear that "twang" here in Alaska, other than when I hear myself on tape. Ha Ha. I have told my husband in the past that Ky soil is so rich and if people could get back to it they would live in abundance. I just followed you and look forward to seeing more photos of your beautiful family. And heart warming stories of your progress moving in the right direction. Take Care and enjoy that blue grass under your feet!

Wow. This was an unexpected surprise. Thank you. This really made my day better. If you are from Harlan then you know exactly the impact the land and people have taken. There are plenty of folks working for change in the mountains, but we need thousands more. Do you happen to know Carl Shoupe? Some time soon I'll be be doing a post about Harlan County. Watch out for that. I'll also be taking advantage of the Kentucky soil this spring. Thanks again for your kind words and for following me.

I do not know him, but that last name sounds so familiar. My parents are back in Wallins Creek after years of living out of state. I will look forward to your post about Harlan. Have a blessed day.

it's great to meet you (finally)! i'm excited to poke around your blog posts and learn more from you - what a beautiful area to live in!

Kentucky is a beautiful place. It's definitely underappreciated. I've tried to stay busy on here so you'll have plenty to look at. Thank's for taking a look.

This is one amazing post Cody. Can't wait to hear more about your medicinal plant adventures in Eastern Kentucky. We all need to learn and listen to people like you that can "talk" to the plants and herbs we need to survive and drop big pharma to the essentials.

On a personal note my wife and I visited Asheville, NC for the first time this last Fall. Mind blowing beauty, food, people, and music. Discovered my paternal side is from KY. Makes sense. Whenever I hear a fiddle-bluegrass- it feels like home. Rage on mountain man! See you here soon.

What part of Kentucky? we might be cousins.

I'm not that close with my Dad. I think the majority moved from Louisville to South Bend, IN in the 30's. We have distant cousins still living in KY. I need to figure that out. They're Duvall Family.

Most of my family came into Kentucky from North Carolina. Kentucky isn't a very homogeneous state. We're very regional. Louisville and East Kentucky are like two different worlds. I was told a wild tail once that claimed I was related to Duvalls, but It's hard to believe.

Regional. Makes sense. We just visited Asheville, NC last October. Crazy beautiful. Music is of the charts. Now you gotta tell your Duvall tale!

I thinking about making a post about it. There is big story to tell.

Right on brother...Do it!

Welcome to Steemit my friend! You've found a great platform to share your work and life. I look forward to hearing about your "most ambitious venture yet." Upvoted and followed.

Thank's for the upvote and follow. My ambitious venture is 8 acres of row crops! sweet corn, tomato, green beans, and bell pepper. I expect I'll have to scale down my ambition though...

Welcome to Steemit family. You will do it absolutely great here! I am also into gardening, nature and health food. As a nurse, I know how important is what we eat. Great post, congrats.
You can find my post @miss.cosy

Welcome on Steemit!
Very interesting intro post.
Wish you much success and a great time on this platform!
See you around!

Awesome intro. Upvoted and followed. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

And I agree with @sam1996, that is a beautiful picture of the scenery. Absolutely gorgeous.

Thank's for the upvote, I went a head and followed you too.

Welcome to Steemit! Really great intro! Beautiful area you live in and really cool herbing? Gardening? Living? Whatever it i, you have a really neat and natural way of living and I love it. Thanks for sharing, I will be sure to follow you and look forward to future posts!

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