~ Nature Artist in Kingston, Arkansas ~
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:
Yesterday I posted about cleaning the native clay and the test firing I planned to do once they dried out enough.
I’m too impatient. I should have waited another day, maybe even longer because the clay was pretty wet when …
Do you want to join me & make your own Forest Folk? It’s a wonderful way to connect with nature and tap into your imagination. December 16 is the date …
I like to note the firsts of things weather related. The rest of our market season outlook somewhat depends on weather, too – whether market patrons are fair-weather customers or are they dedicated like a mail-carrier, willing to go out …
Lots of things on my to-do list today, and I guess I should be getting on with *doing* them instead of rambling on about them.
But talking about it like this helps me to figure out what all I need …
Here’s a couple of photos from this morning I thought you’d like. I love fall here in the Ozarks. Late October color is often quite nice. That’s when it begins to start turning noticeably.
In the morning as the sun …
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 …
I have a housefull of things collected. Some I actually do get around to using, some stay on a shelf gathering dust. A few of the most prized collected things are just there for me to look at and enjoy, …
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.
Pixies are the most …
Yesterday was mine and Rob’s 4th wedding anniversary. Our first date was in Eureka Springs, so each year we go back and have one of the mochas from Mud Street Cafe.
Well, I must have ordered the …
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 …
It’s been bone dry lately. This morning I brought my camera with me so I could take pictures of the driveway flowers.
Ordinarily this would have been an “exercise walk” and I wouldn’t have brought the camera because that would …
In keeping with the “spotted” theme of my last post, here’s an orange spotted jewelweed flower. I’m always trying to get the perfect photo of this flower.
A dream set-up would be when the sun is shining just *so* on …
I feel about as close to a miserable death as I’ve ever been.
If not for Rob who has been vigilant in his care, and his promises to hold my hand if I have to go back to ER so …
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) at the creek’s edge in late August. It’s one of the showiest Lobelia species that grows in the Arkansas Ozarks.…
Posting an article about nature immersion probably wasn’t the best idea in the world right now, with Harvey decimating Houston and south Texas. I’m sorry. I didn’t think about the context in which the topic could be taken.
However, since …
Two years ago I made a nature drawing of American ginseng in October, with yellowing leaves against the dark backdrop of the Wild Ozark forest.
Since that time I’ve learned a little more about certain …
If you’re looking for my posts on ginseng, please visit ginseng.wildozark.com. Most of the posts have been moved over there.
Email me if you’re having trouble finding the information you’re looking for and I’ll be glad to help!
madison@wildozark.com
A …
Not enough time to make a decent post lately, so figured I’d at least put up a few of the photos I’ve taken in the past few days of August. Click on them to make them larger.…
We hiked around a few gravel bars along Kings River yesterday.
Wild Ozark is not far from the headwaters of this locally important waterway, but other than what we see from the window as we drive over the …
Thimbleweed is a graceful, interesting native Ozark plant that grows along forest edges (also native to many other areas of the eastern United States). It is most often found in the dappled shade of liminal spaces between forest and clearing.…
A couple of weeks ago, Karter’s bouquet caused painful blisters. She picked wildflowers on an outing with her mom and friends down by the river. All the grandkids always love …
Elderberry flowers have a light, sweet fragrance and all manners of pollinators love them.
The variety I’m using for this is Sambucus canadensis, which is the native elderberry in our area. Black elderberry (S. nigra) is …
We host a nest of phoebes each year in the front porch rafters. I’m never sure if any of them survive the relentless predation of our cats, but each year I hope.
Yesterday one of the little babies flapped wings …