Just Local

10/20/2026

My farm friends (and farm dreamers), please check this out!

GRANT ALERT - Reach out for more information!

This grant supports local agricultural entrepreneurs by providing up to $3,000 in funding to help build farm capacity for increased production and income generation. The grant is intended to strengthen farm operations through targeted investments in equipment, infrastructure, technology, or sustainable practices that improve output and profitability. Ideal for beginning and established farms alike, this opportunity aims to foster economic resilience, encourage innovation, and enhance the long-term viability of our WNC local food system.

10/19/2026

I've always been interested in food and culture.
Working at Walmart allowed me access to some new curiosities.

First off, I'm dying to know what y'all did with 6-10 different kinds of canned beans for Memorial Day.
Whatever it is wasn't served during the 4th of July.
Is there a secret Appalachian end of summer "bean off"?
Inquiring minds wanna know!

Don't get me started on Hot Dog Chili...
I'm so confused, ain't much "chili" about that stuff.
Don't worry, Chicago Dogs still befuddle me too.
I firmly believe that there's only so many soggy things that a cheap white hot dog bun can handle.

Another one is flavored coffee creamer.
What the heck is happening in our little hollers?
Are we just ate up with wannabe baristas, jacked up on caffeine and sugar?

Are dino shaped nuggets a requirement for childhood development?
Has anyone heard that deep frying a potato disqualifies it as a vegetable?
And, since when do grown people horde ridiculous amounts of yogurt and fancy Lunchables?

On the other side, I loved that the store couldn't keep up with the demand for canning jars and white vinegar.
And, for anyone who ordered vegetables, I'm proud of you!

But you could tell a lot from those online orders as to who was being fed and the culture(s) that informed their purchases.

I once filled an order for another Megan B. That girl and I could hang.
She totally bought the same kinds of things I did before I got myself a garden and a picky meat and taters kind of husband.

There are so many mysteries I may never solve 🤣

P.S. life is too short to eat unsalted butter.
And, no-fat buttermilk should be considered a crime against humanity.

10/12/2026

When I was a kid (before the internet 🤣), I'd go to the library... a lot.
If I was researching something, I'd always come home with books that weren't related to the subject at all.

The reason was how sections were organized.
I'd see book titles and subjects that inspired my curiosity, and I'd take them home.

I have similar feelings about Google before AI. A huge amount of my farming knowledge came from internet searches of questions and looking for Cooperative Extension or other vetted resources to solve crop and livestock mysteries.

I'd also start getting deeper into subjects just by following clicks down the rabbit hole (of real sources, mind you, not YouTube superstars).
Thoughtfully Googling was like going to a super cool library.

A.I. takes this journey of discovery away.
Technology, as a whole, is leading us away from so many parts of the human experience.

I would leave a library with 20 some pounds of books in my backpack, now your given a weird little breakdown, citing anything from magazine articles to a trending influencer as 'fact'

Bring your kid to the library.
Disable AI responses to your searches.
Stop using those darn cute photo manipulator apps.
Be curious.
Read something random and pay attention to the sorce.
Use the most amazing human skills we have: imagination, ingenuity, curiosity, wonder, and the ability to be truly human.

Go, and be real about it.

10/10/2026

Who wants to see me get not one, but TWO pies to the face??
And if you register to be a volunteer, not only will I be grateful, but we'll get to connect again 💛
Miss y'all, so join in the fun!

🥧💥 MEGAN IS GOING TO OUT-PIE ME!!! 💥🥧

That’s right, folks. Megan is willing to take not ONE, but TWO PIES TO THE FACE! 🥧🥧🤣

BUT THERE’S A CATCH!

🐾 She NEEDS 20 VOLUNTEERS TO SIGN UP! 🐾

Here’s the deal: Sign up for whatever shift or job works for you, and when it asks for your work number, just write:

👉 “Megan gets a pie to the face!” 👈

We especially need help making Paws in the Park a success AND getting our Trail Buddies dogs out to enjoy the festivities!

And P.S. — if you’re bringing a Trail Buddy, YOUR DOG IS ENTERING THE PIE EATING CONTEST! 🐕🥧😂

20 VOLUNTEERS = 2 PIES IN MEGAN’S FACE.

It’s for the animals, people. She will do what she has to do. 🤣❤️

NOW THE REAL QUESTION IS…

🎯 WHO DO YOU WANT TO SEE GET PIED IN THE FACE NEXT?!

Tag your next victim below! 👇🤣

09/30/2026

*BBQ and Bluegrass Festival has been POSTPONED*

Do you miss me?
Do you love the smell of BBQ?
Do you care about all the great things Mitchell County Animal Rescue does in our community?

COME HANG OUT!

Your favorite new Community Outreach Coordinator (me) and MCAR's Fearless Leader (Katie Elkins) could use some help sharing the good news about new programs, foster opportunities, and all the great ways we can support our animals and our community.

If you can spare a few hours this Saturday, and wouldn't be sad to get into the BBQ and Bluegrass Festival in Spruce Pine for free...holler at your girl 😉

09/28/2026

Phew. Two years.
You'd think we'd feel better by now.
Progress is slow, which logic would insist makes sense.
But it's still surreal.

Hurricanes don't happen in the mountains.
We know tropical storm inspired flooding, but this...this was unprecedented.
So many have creeks to cross to get to their homes.
We live on mountain sides with ridges and waterways as our property lines.
The earth slid away.

Our lush forests were laid flat for swatches, going hundreds of miles.
Every waterway swelled to such limits that structures and lives went with it.
All the infrastructure was just gone.
That's almost impossible to comprehend in our modern times.

There was no more convenience.

No more power.

No more phones.

No "network" to rely upon.

Communities were inaccessible.
Folks couldn't leave their homes unless they were willing to hike terrain strewn with downed trees and acres of river mud.

Our road literally collapsed in one direction and was full of wash outs, destroyed power lines, and debris in the other.
It took three days to see what had happened outside of our holler.

And yet, here we still are.
A few things have been brought back to right, but the hum of generators was drowned out by the roar of community doing what they are designed to do.

Our elders were cared for.
Our differences were forgotten.
We did what was needed and didn't think twice about it.
I still hold onto that.

I'm never going to be the same, but some of that is for the better.
I may never enjoy the sound of wind in the trees, thunder or rain on a tin roof but I can only hope to retain the glory of a community that cares for all in the aftermath of a Hel-ish storm.

09/25/2026

My last day wearing a blue vest was today.
Of course, I'm relieved and excited, mostly to not have to walk 6 miles a day with an awkward cart full of online orders.
I'm too old to make my body do stupid things for an hourly wage.
That's what gardens are for 😉

But, I really was "Happy To Help."
First off, the good people of Mitchell County are (for the most part) adorably polite, like kiss that sweet Memaw of yours for me, polite.
And the fantasticly lost older gentlemen with a grocery list written in beautiful cursive and that glazed look of complete confusion, how could anyone resist?

I loved making eye contact with someone, smiling, and seeing a grumpy face change into an enthusiastic grin in return.
I've probably said, "Pardon me, dear," more in the past 4 months than my whole life multiplied a few times.
It did remind me how much 'leading with love' gives back (it's a ton, and I've soaked it up and used it to get through tough days).

I'll miss all the people who made up my work days, but I won't miss working a job that was polar opposite to where my heart lives.
My wisdom from this experience is to try to leave things better than you found them, even if it is the last place on earth you'd want to be.