Category: Departures
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Product Review: A Quiet Computer Mouse by Mossy Oak
My old mouse recently died and I had to get another. The next time we went to Walmart I picked up one of the least expensive ones I could find. It was around $10 and I thought that’s not too …
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Simple Survival Skills: Limited Water Washing
I forget, until I have to use them, how many simple survival skills I’ve used since moving to this remote and rural Ozarks life. Washing dishes with limited water is one of the most useful things to know. Simple Survival …
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RIP Bobbie Sue. You were a good Farm Dog.
Bobbie Sue was a dog we got as a pound puppy from a shelter in Harrison, Arkansas during our first year here at Wild Ozark. She had probably been abused or severely neglected before she went to the rescue. She …
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Using a Spring for Water – Winter Issues
When you rely on a spring for water, you need a tank. This is our 1500 gallon water collection tank. Using a spring for water requires more effort than relying on tap water. Sometimes, just because you turn on the …
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Through Ice and Mud We Go – Bringing Hay to Horses
Through Ice and Mud Whether through ice and mud, or snow, or rain or wind, kind of like the postman’s creed to deliver mail, we must deliver hay to the horses. It’s easy to stay in touch with the wheel …
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New Tax Rule – Arkansas Sales Tax on Digital Products
This year there’s a new tax rule that will affect the people who buy digital goods from Wild Ozark. We have to pay retail sales tax on ebooks that I sell in our online shop as of January 1, 2018.…
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Ginseng Jelly – A Delicious Wild Ozark Luxury Product
Oh, my … GINSENG JELLY! I love medicinal herbs, especially those that grow right here at home, and most especially ginseng. This year’s ginseng jelly comes in two varieties: Ginseng Gold (4-oz, $25) Ginseng/Apple (8-oz, $25) Soft-set: thicker than syrup, …
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Acorn People are a Great a Way to Justify Collecting Things
I’ve been creating Acorn People as a way to justify my obsessive habit of collecting things I find while roaming around outside. Now I can pick up fossils, moss, lichens, leaves, twigs, and acorns and never feel a moment of …
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Pixies – Miniatures by Madison Woods
UPDATE 2023: I’m not making these little pixies anymore, but there is a new line of little people in the works. Meet Ada, the first of her kind. The Coalescence Project The Pixies from 2017: Pixies are the most …
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100-word Flash Fiction
Ever heard of 100-word flash fiction? I’m not sure how many of you were following this blog way back when I used to call it “Madison Woods” and used to write a lot more fiction. Well, writing anything remotely resembling …
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Elderberry Flowers Oil Infusion
Elderberry flowers have a light, sweet fragrance and all manners of pollinators love them. Which Elderberry Flowers? The variety I’m using for this is Sambucus canadensis, which is the native elderberry in our area. Black elderberry (S. nigra) is …
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2017 Farmers Market Schedule
I decided to just update the schedule on my “appearances page“. Please check there for the latest dates. The link to get there is https://www.wildozark.com/appearances-workshops-herb-walks-presentations/ Schedule of farmers markets & events 5/26/17 – Friday I’ll be in Jasper, …
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Wild Ozark’s Plant ID Challenge: May’s Mystery
This month’s Star Plant Guesser is Janet Webb, who correctly identified May’s Mystery plant as Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum). Each month, around the middle of the month, I’ll post a plant ID challenge for readers to test their identification …
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PawPaw Seedling Hiding in the Hickories
There’s a hickory hiding in there with the pawpaw seedlings. PawPaw seedlings look a lot like hickory seedlings. In the photo you can see who’s who, but without the labels it’s easy to mistake one for the other. One way …
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Black Cohosh or Doll’s Eyes? Companion Look A-Likes
Black Cohosh or Doll’s Eyes? Trying to differentiate between black cohosh and doll’s eyes before they come into bloom, has been frustrating. It’s very easy to tell once they begin the blooming process as the flower stems originate in different …
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Early Spring Plants of the Woodlands in Madison County Arkansas
I got a late start photographing the early spring plants this year (2017). They started without me and I’ve already missed some of them. These are some of the plants unfurling and blooming on April 1 in the woodland habitats …
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Sunrise Sounds at Wild Ozark
In the mornings, we don’t hear highway noise of people rushing to get to work on time. Our sunrise sounds belong to nature. Sunrise Sounds Remodeling We’ve been particularly busy lately here. Rob’s remodeling the bathroom. We thought it might …
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Compost Sifter
Rocks are everywhere here at Wild Ozark. Even when I rake leaves or clean out the chicken house I get rocks mixed in. A compost sifter would help when I’m trying to separate rocks and weeds out of the pile.…
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Starting Seeds and Straightening Tines
Yesterday I decided it was time to get busy starting seeds for our garden. Hauled the seed vault out and began the painful process of picking which of the very many seeds I have saved that I want to start …
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Ginseng Jams & Nature Art Cards on a Chilly Day
I’ll be in the Kingston square with the Wild Ozark booth on Saturday selling ginseng jams, nature art, and fairy gardens. Chilly Day For weeks it’s been warmer than usual and so I decided I’d set up the Wild Ozark …
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Watching for Witch Hazel Flowers
Witch Hazel Flowers Witch hazel flowers are an interesting sight to behold. The petals on the small flowers are thin and wild. The shrub blooms during the most unlikeliest time of the year. It is one of my favorite plants …
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Join me at the 8th Annual Agroforestry Symposium in Columbia, MO
January 26, 2017 We’ll be there representing Wild Ozark and I’ll be participating in the discussion panel for medicinal plant growers and entrepreneurs. Come out and meet us, talk about ginseng and the new habitat garden, or just say hello.…
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Bringing Hay to Horses in Snow
After yesterday’s post where I reveled in the fact that we’d actually had a decent snowfall, we went out in the cold to bring hay to horses. The temperature was about 15*F with a windchill factor of I don’t know …
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Can’t see the Trees for the Forest, or rather, Snowflakes for the Snow
Yesterday we only had a little bit of snow and each little snowflake was easy to see and photograph. Now it is like not being able to see the trees for the forest. Can’t see the snowflakes for the snow.…
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How to Identify Plants in the Wild, How to Search and Find Clues
Earlier this year I surveyed my newsletter members for their top questions. Here’s one about how to identify plants found in the outdoors. Top Questions It’s more of a comment than a question, but I’m creating this post in response to …