Wild Ozark™

~ Nature Artist in Kingston, Arkansas ~

Blog

  • Stone Tool – Relic of a Long Bygone Era

    I knew when I saw the rounded hand-sized rock that it was more than “just a rock”. It was a stone tool, & probably several thousand years old.

    Stone tool of early Native Americans in the Ozarks - a rounded grinding stone.

    There is something special about holding a stone I know once was …

  • Coyotes at Midnight

    I had trouble getting to sleep last night. Then there were coyotes at midnight, just as the drift of dreams was beginning to take hold. It went on for so long I had time to turn on the audio recorder …

  • What is the “back burner”, really?

    Back Burner

    You’ve probably referred to projects you’ve put on hold as being “on the back burner”. I understood what the phrase meant, and had used it often myself, but when we got our new/old cook stove, I learned how …

  • Delve Deeper to Observe Nature

    Take a moment from your day and delve deeper to observe nature. You’ll gain a sense of awe and wonder.

    Delve deeper

    Truly experience that moment. If it’s a plant you’re observing, reach out and touch it (be reasonable – …

  • Repairing Our Wild Ozark Spring Water Line

    Today I repaired our Wild Ozark spring water line

    Since I’ve learned how to do this myself, I figured I’d do it while Mr. Wild Ozark was at work. Later this summer we have plans to change out the entire …

  • A Muck Boot and Pj Kind of Day

    I didn’t feel like getting out of bed this morning. It was cold in the room when I woke and I just felt lazy. But the hens clucked louder as the minutes ticked past.

    chickens in the snow

    I knew the dogs and horses …

  • A problem in our gravity feed spring water system

    What is a gravity feed water system?

    We are fortunate to have our very own spring fed water source that runs all year long. It is a spring that pumps out enough water, without fail, to serve our household with …

  • Kings River Falls – Photos from our hike

    Kings River Falls – Photos from our hike

    On Sunday I went hiking with my two oldest children and their children, one of my daughter’s friends and her children, and my parents to the Kings River Falls. This trail is a little north and east of Fallsville, AR …

  • A Poem by Joanna Macy

    This is an untitled (newly titled!) poem by Joanna Macy, a deep ecologist. I found this poem many years ago on a website long lost to memory, but I’ve linked to Joanna’s website in her name below. I stumbled …

  • The Sound of Winter

    Some sounds are distinctly “winter”. Sometimes the sound of winter is marked by the absence of sound. Maybe it’s more correctly described as the “silence of winter”.

    I am often reminded of how grateful I am to have my sense …

  • Meet our new team mates – Bat Cave Botanicals

    Wild Ozark is pleased to announce that we’ll be working with Bat Cave Botanicals to bring wild Appalachian ginseng roots and leaf products to our online shop.

    Martin & Sara of Bat Cave BotanicalsAbout Bat Cave Botanicals

    My partner & I are fortunate to live

    …

  • On the horizon-Just filling in

    I’m swamped with my project list and missed my scheduled day to post here yesterday. So I’m just making a quick post to let you all know about a few things on the horizon.

    Some exciting announcements coming up – …

  • Warm Egg on a Cold Day

    There is something quite satisfying about finding a warm egg in the henhouse on a blustery 15*F morning.

    I tried something new to help me wake up a little earlier this morning. It wasn’t until 5 a.m. when the strange …

  • Departures

    Not all of my art reflects the Ozarks. Some of it is purely from the imagination, and some are images of things nowhere nearby.

    When I first began this site, I thought I might only post the art related to …

  • What is Humanity’s Role in Nature?

    Humanity’s Role in Nature

    Have you ever thought about humanity’s role in nature? Our various mythologies and religious origin stories offer some ideas that are generally accepted by many, but those are conflicting and I still wonder. Are we here …

  • Snow is Beautiful but Hoar Frost is Magical

    The sight of hoar frost makes me smile because it brings a memory to mind, one with imagery that could have been ripped from the pages of a fairy tale.

    Hoar frost happens when fog freezes on the trees and …

  • Exercising Outside on a Crispy Ozark Morning

    exercising outside involves jogging and walking to the 1/2 mile to the mailbox for me.
    A crispy cold morning, great for exercising outside

    I did my exercising outside this morning, jog/walked to the mailbox in under 20 minutes – a milestone for me!

    Exercising Outside

    Feeding the critters acted as a warm-up spell, but it was

    …

  • Exercising in Nature – or – Why it takes me an hour to walk to the mailbox and back

    Exercising in nature is as easy as taking a walk to check the mail. It helps if you have a long driveway.

    One of my resolutions for the new year and the rest of my life is to get into …

  • Did you know Osage Oranges evolved with wooly mammoths?

    Osage

    Maclura pomifera, also known as Osage Orange, Bois d’Arc, Hedge-apple, or Horse-apple, the osage tree is native to our area. Even so, there aren’t very many of them in our particular neck of the woods.

    osage tree
    A bedraggled osage tree.
    …

  • With a departing roar

    [Image of a departing storm] With a departing roar the storm rolled off to the east. Clear skies between broken clouds filled the southwestern wake.
    With a departing roar the storm rolled off to the east. Clear skies between broken clouds filled the southwestern wake.

    Nature is my muse.

    I’ve been working hard on my novel, trying to get the first draft finished by the …

  • Winter Solstice 2015 – A Widdershin sort of Time

    Winter Solstice 2015 occurs tonight at 10:03 p.m. CST

    It’s a widdershin sort of time, an unwinding, a releasing. A loosening of the grip on things I need to let go of.

    Actual New Year’s Eve

    It’s Winter Solstice,  the …

  • Finding Lost Fungi

    I brought the camera today to get some photos of fungi I’d spotted a few days ago.

    When I rode out with Rob the other day I saw the mushrooms on a log and figured I’d come back and get …

  • Looking forward to solstice

    Pulled this one from the archives. It’s from when I worked in Bentonville, leaving before dawn and getting home after dusk. I hated that and am glad to be working from home now, but I still look forward to mid-winter’s …

  • Killing Pretty Roosters

    First I tried selling pretty roosters. Then I tried gifting pretty roosters.

    Yesterday we killed pretty roosters.

    It was my chore to pick which ones. I felt a bit like Kali (Goddess who is both giver of life and bringer …

  • Inspired by Nature

    Inspired by Nature

    Nature has inspired some pretty cool inventions. And lots of art. My guess is that Mother Nature is the muse to a lot of artists of all types.

    How often do you see something in the natural world and marvel …