In January of 1991, a bizarre story out of Channelview, Texas, became a national obsession. Wanda Holloway, a mother from a blue-collar town east of Houston, was accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill the mother of her daughter’s junior high cheerleading rival. But behind the “Pom-Pom Mom” headline was a deeper story…
The Aviary: Brown Thrasher
Want to talk birds with us? This Bird of the Week post continues inside The Aviary — our birding corner in The Hidden Pine Lodge. Members share feeder photos, bird sightings, backyard notes, questions, and observations from around the South. The Hidden Pine Lodge is $4/month and includes The Aviary, our private Discord community, book…
SBP Podcast Episode 18: Anne Bonny: Pirate Queen, Pirate Legend
Anne Bonny is one of the most famous pirates in history — and perhaps one of the most mysterious. She sailed during the final violent years of the Golden Age of Piracy alongside the infamous Calico Jack Rackham and fellow female pirate Mary Read, becoming one of the most feared women in the Atlantic world….
Southern Reads: Blood and Treasure
Blood and Treasure is the kind of history book that reminds you why some figures never really leave the American imagination. Daniel Boone is one of those names that most people know before they ever really know anything about him. He exists somewhere between schoolbook history, frontier legend, old television reruns, coonskin-cap mythology, and the…
The Aviary: The Brown-Headed Cowbird
The Brown-headed Cowbird is different. It is not the flashiest bird in the yard. It does not have the elegance of a heron, the wild cry of a hawk, or the storybook appeal of a chickadee. At first glance, the male looks like someone dipped a blackbird in coffee and sent him on his way….
SBP Podcast Episode 17: The Dixie Mafia and the Vincent & Margaret Sherry Murders
On September 14, 1987, Circuit Court Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Biloxi city councilwoman Margaret Sherry, were found murdered inside their home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. There was no forced entry. No robbery. No obvious sign of a random attack. At first, the case seemed to point in several directions. Local politics. City…
The Aviary: House Finch
Want to talk birds with us? This Bird of the Week post continues inside The Aviary — our birding corner in The Hidden Pine Lodge. Members share feeder photos, bird sightings, backyard notes, questions, and observations from around the South. If you’re seeing House Finches at your feeder too, or if you’re trying to pay…
Southern Reads: The Line That Held Us
The Line That Held Us feels dragged out of the mud somewhere deep in the mountains of North Carolina and handed directly to the reader with dirt still on it. And this was an excellent addition to our Book Club—you can join us by heading over to Patreon (The Hidden Pine Lodge). It’s only $4…
The Hellbender: The River’s Last Secret
There are creatures in the South that feel like they belong to another time. Not folklore. Not exaggerated. Not misunderstood. Just old. The hellbender is one of them. If you’ve ever stood in a cold, fast-moving Appalachian stream—western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, north Georgia—and felt like the place itself had weight to it… like it…
Kentucky Derby 2026: The Southern Blueprint Guide to the 152nd Run for the Roses
The 2026 Kentucky Derby is not just another running of America’s most famous horse race. It is the 152nd Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, and it arrives at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 2, 2026, with a full 20-horse field, four also-eligibles, a $5 million purse, a rail-drawn favorite, a deep…