A Letter From Your Editor: What's New at The Country Bucket This August

Howdy, friend.

Beca here. Pull up a chair and set a spell.

I’m writing this one from the porch with a glass of sweet tea sweating a ring on the table and a box fan doing its level best. It is hotter than a pepper sprout out there, like the song says. But August has always been my favorite kind of miserable. The whole world smells like cut grass and ripe tomatoes, and the cicadas are singing for their supper.

We’ve had a busy summer behind the scenes here at The Country Bucket. A lot of it you can’t see. Some of it you surely can. So let me catch you up the way I’d catch up a neighbor over the back fence.

We Gave The Country Bucket a Fresh Coat of Paint

If the site feels quicker lately, that’s because it is. We rebuilt The Country Bucket from the ground up this summer. Pages load faster now. Stories read easier on your phone. Less waiting, more enjoying. Even out where the internet crawls on its hands and knees, the site ought to pop right up.

And here’s the part I’m proudest of. Every picture on the site now carries a rich spoken description. Folks who use screen readers can hear what’s in each photo, told plain and true. Some of our readers see with their ears, and they deserve the whole story same as anybody else. That matters to us.

If anything on the new site acts up on you, write and tell us. We read every note that comes in, and we fix what we can.

Now the Stories Come With Music

Here’s a fun one. Under a good many of our stories, you’ll now find a little Amazon music player. Tap it and you can listen to songs that fit the story you’re reading. A Patsy Cline story might come with a little Patsy. A story about an old barn dance might come with fiddle music. Fair warning: it will get your toes tapping.

And full disclosure, friend, because you know I shoot straight with you. If you buy a song or try Amazon Music through that player, Amazon tips us a few pennies. It costs you nothing extra, and it helps keep the lights on around here. Simple as that.

A Big Ol’ Shout Out to The Big W

Y’all know some of us live way out in the boondocks, where the nearest anything is a haul. So when I tell you our family leans on Walmart just about every week, I mean it. Groceries, dog food, garden stuff, you name it. Home delivery, all the way out here in the sticks. That still feels like magic to me.

So here’s the news. The Country Bucket has joined the Walmart Creator program. When a story mentions something useful, a canning kit, a hummingbird feeder, a big bag of kibble, we can now drop in a helpful link straight to The Big W. Same honest deal as the music player. If you buy through our link, Walmart sends a little our way, and your price doesn’t change one red cent.

One promise, though. We only link to things we’d put in our own cart. If we wouldn’t buy it, we won’t point you at it.

Find Us on Pinterest, and Keep an Eye Out for Fakes

Now, before we get to August, let’s talk Pinterest.

Our Pinterest page is growing like kudzu in July, and we’re mighty grateful for every last one of you pinning and sharing our stories. If you’re not following us yet, come on over to pinterest.com/countrybucket. We pin new stories every single day, straight from our porch to your feed. It’s the easiest way to discover something sweet, funny, or downright amazing from us daily.

One favor, though. Keep your eyes peeled for counterfeit pins. Some folks out there copy our pictures and point them at strange websites that have nothing to do with us. As always, the rule is simple: it’s only officially Country Bucket if the pin links back to CountryBucket.com. Plain as that.

If you spot a fake, report it right there on Pinterest, then drop us a line so we know too. Y’all are our best watchdogs, and we appreciate you more than you know.

What August Has in Store

Now then. August.

The tomatoes are coming in faster than we can eat them, so the canner is about to earn its keep. County fairs are firing up all over the country, with prize pigs and blue-ribbon pies. The hummingbirds are hitting the feeders like they owe them money, tanking up for the long trip south. And the grandkids are fixin’ to head back to school, which means the house gets quiet and the cookie jar stays full a little longer.

You’ll feel the evenings pulling in a bit earlier too. Just a few minutes a day. That’s fall, off in the distance, clearing its throat.

Around here, that means more of what you come for. Sweet animal stories over in Critters. Garden and canning know-how in Homestead. Old songs and old memories in Back in the Day and on the Main Stage. And come September, we’ll ease into fall stories, football, sweaters, and all the cozy stuff worth waiting for.

We reckon this next season is going to be our best one yet, and we’re awful glad you’re along for the ride.

Same porch. Same stories. Just a faster truck.

Peace. Beca

P.S. If you do one thing today, make it this: follow us on Pinterest at pinterest.com/countrybucket. New Country Bucket stories land there every single day, and I’d hate for you to miss a good one.