It’s September on the porch, and Sarah Beth has gathered the news so you don’t have to. This edition of the Porch Paper travels from serious headlines and West Virginia road safety to home-invading bears, a nine-pound flightless parrot, an adorable porcupette with an emotional-support log, the fight over AI-generated music, the Dolly Desk and a remarkable trip through September 1 history.

Then it’s time to become porch botanists with 20 strange and surprising flower facts—including deceptive orchids, color-changing hydrangeas, ancient magnolias and enormous blooms that smell like rotting meat.

Beneath all the jokes is a reminder for difficult seasons: blooming doesn’t look the same for everyone. Sometimes you spend a season underground—but being in the dirt doesn’t mean you’re buried. It may mean you’ve been planted.

Porch Report from Sarah Beth Terry | August 31, 2026

arah Beth Terry planned to sleep in. Her neighbor—and his 8 a.m. lawnmower—had other ideas.

What begins as an emergency meeting of the porch people becomes a gloriously unfiltered Friday-morning episode about aggravating neighbors, wet grass, prayer, patience, and handing your vengeance over to the Lord before breakfast.

Sarah Beth also opens the Porch Paper for national, international, West Virginia, and Kentucky headlines; celebrates a huge day for country, bluegrass, and Americana releases; returns to the Dolly desk; shares odd facts and a little porch scripture; and catches up with viewers from across the country and around the world.

The conversation wanders through faith, gardening, chickens, touring, the next album, Dolly memories, discerning God’s voice, and the grassroots community making the porch feel like home.

Contains adult language—and one extremely persistent lawnmower.