Real People. Real Stories. Real Land.

Catherine Seiberling Pond

Picture of Catherine Seiberling Pond
Catherine Seiberling Pond writes about home, place, and rural life from her Kentucky ridge farm where her family moved from New England in 2008. She is also marketing coordinator (remote and on site) for the National Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud, Nebraska and says the combination of vocations and locales is the best of all rural worlds. Find more at CatherinePond.com.

Recent Posts

Winter's Coming  9 Ways to Prepare for the Darkest Season of the Year

Winter's Coming — 9 Ways to Prepare for the Darkest Season of the Year

Winter's coming...are you and your homestead ready for the months ahead? Farmwife Catherine S. Pond shares 10 ways you can prepare for the colder...

A Country Fourth of July

A Country Fourth of July

Get in the Fourth of July spirit with as Catherine S. Pond takes you back to holidays spent with her Grandparents and how they've adapted those...

Celebrating The Wildflowers of Appalachia

Celebrating The Wildflowers of Appalachia

Wildflower season is in full bloom in much of the South. To celebrate, farm wife Catherine Pond shares a short essay with a series of images of...

Warming Winter Chowders: 1 Recipe, 5 Ways

Warming Winter Chowders: 1 Recipe, 5 Ways

Already it is February 1 and Winter Storm Orlena has just brought bitter cold and a few inches of snow to our farm in south central Kentucky and is...

How to Make Elderberry Syrup From Dried Berries

How to Make Elderberry Syrup From Dried Berries

Learn how to make a huge batch of elderberry syrup using purchased, or foraged, dried berries and just a handful of other ingredients.

The Appalachian Tradition of Old Christmas

The Appalachian Tradition of "Old Christmas"

In this spirit of this unique holiday season, we bring you the little-known story of "Old Christmas", a centuries old Appalachian custom wherein...

A Quiet Country Thanksgiving  Counting Our Blessings in 2020

A Quiet Country Thanksgiving — Counting Our Blessings in 2020

As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessing of our common everyday lives for which we should...

How to Make FoolProof Apple Sauce ( Apple Butter)

How to Make Fool-Proof Apple Sauce (& Apple Butter)

There is nothing easier, tastier or more practical than making your own applesauce and apple butter. Cooking and pantry expert Catherine Pond shares...

Make Good Use Of Late Garden Produce With This Veggie Tonic

Make Good Use Of Late Garden Produce With This Veggie Tonic

Don't let less-than-perfect tomatoes rot on the vine (or cucumbers, herbs, peppers, etc.). Use them up and put them up with this tasty and healthy...

The Woodstock Lavender Co.A MotherDaughter Herb Farm Thrives In Rural Kentucky

The Woodstock Lavender Co.---A Mother-Daughter Herb Farm Thrives In Rural Kentucky

One of the best things about owning rural land is finding a purposeful way to make that land work for you. Mother and daughter, Mary May and Allison...