Welcome to my blog about Nature, Art with Ozark pigments, Rural Real Estate, & my Hermit Homesteading Life. Oh, and sometimes I write about my philosophical observations.
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Nature Sketching Day 21- Down the dirt road in October
I’m not real good at trees and landscapes yet. I can do single items like leaves fairly well, but the larger view pushes outside my ability. Maybe with practice I’ll get better. …
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Rain or Hallucination?
So brief it almost feels now like it was hallucination, rain fell this morning while I was out feeding the critters. The chickens were all like “what’s that wet stuff coming down from the sky?” It’s been many weeks since …
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Nature Sketching – Day 17 “Grape Fern and Fall Leaves”
It gets hard to find a subject to draw that doesn’t include dead leaves at this time of year. I at first wanted to draw this pretty beech leaf nestled on a darker sycamore leaf, but decided against it in …
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Nature Sketching Day 15 – American Ginseng in early October
I went out in search of beech drops for today’s sketch. I didn’t find any. On my way up the path toward the pond, though, I found something exciting. Today’s nature sketch features American ginseng in early October. The leaves …
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Beautiful Fall Misty Morning
There is a silence accompanied by a misty morning that is unlike anything else. This morning I sat on the porch to have my morning coffee. The roosters refrained from crowing. The logging activity is either done or stopped for …
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Nature Sketching Day 14
At this time of year it’s even harder than usual for me to make a quick trip to town and back. If I bring my camera with me, it’s a guaranteed impossibility. Today I had to stop for photos …
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Nature Sketching Day 13 – Green Grass in Fall
I always like to see green grass in fall among the dead leaves. Yesterday I missed my sketching. I missed the day before that too, but had taken a photo of the leaf so I could draw it later. But …
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It’s beginning to look like fall here at Wild Ozark
Yesterday it really felt like fall, and it does again today, too. It was almost 40*F this morning. I took a few photos yesterday, but was in a hurry to get somewhere so didn’t bring the monopod and the quality …
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Feels like fall is really here
It’s a foggy morning at Wild Ozark, and chilly too. Feels like fall is really here now. 42*F when I looked at the thermometer right after sunrise. I went down to the mailbox to mail a letter this morning after …
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For all the little acorns
May they grow to mighty oaks For the past several weeks one of the first morning sounds have been that of heavy equipment moving into place on the mountains to our southeast. Later, as the sun rises, it’s chainsaws. And …
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Nature Sketching Day 8
Yesterday’s Nature Journal entry was created today because a new grandbaby of mine entered the world the night before and I slept through my usual drawing/entry time. There’s a post that corresponds to this entry at the main site. You …
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Nature Sketching Day 6 – “Lobelia Inflata”
Today I went out on foot, backpack loaded with my towel and cushion to sit on, sketch journal, and pencils to do my daily entry for the Wild Ozark Nature Journal. Once I found my subject, this aging Lobelia inflata …
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Busy Days at Wild Ozark
I’ve been busy lately, but you wouldn’t know it from my lack of posts to the blog. New projects started (Wild Ozark Nature Journal) and a new website to go with it, new products, and new adventures. Last Friday I …
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Nature Sketching Day 3 – Sycamore Leaf
Each day I’ve picked what I think will be a simple subject. Today’s was a single sycamore leaf with no effort to include background, foreground or any other difficult or distracting thing. Then as I settled in and began my …
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Nature Sketching Day 2 – Asters Along the Driveway
Today’s nature sketch is of the purple asters that were growing along the driveway. Each day I try to make an entry with a pencil drawing. …
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Is it Ginseng Root, Tree Root, or what?
Do you know what kind of roots these are? The other day I got an email asking for some identification help. From the photos, I do not believe it’s ginseng, but I can’t tell what it is. Some of them …
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What Happens to Ginseng in Too Much Sun
Why is this ginseng turning yellow? UPDATE 10/5/24 This is an old post from when I first started observing ginseng in the wild and among my wild-simulated patches, and thought I knew a lot more than I did. The ginseng …
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The Business ‘Circle of Life’ at Wild Ozark
An older post, but still representative. Eventually I’ll update it but for now, I’ll leave it alone: This is the second year since making Wild Ozark my full-time endeavor. Over the past year, I’ve noticed a life-cycle of sorts. It’s …
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Photos Ginseng Roots from 2015 Season
9/14 (Ohio) Holy Cow- Looks like a man! The rich Ohio soil sure turns out some nice roots. From Marcia: “Second day out digging roots and I had a new person with me. So I was showing him what other …
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Gathering Lobelia inflata Seeds
Looking for Lobelia Today I donned a surgical mask to go out and gather the seed pods of Lobelia inflata. Why the mask? Well, it’s the time of year when ragweed tries to assault me when I go outside. I’m …
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PawPaw’s Notebook
A while back while visiting down south I thought of PawPaw’s notebook. My PawPaw was in his 90’s and I knew he wouldn’t be with us much longer so thought I’d ask him for his notebook while he was still …
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An Herbal Hoof Poultice for a Horse
Both of our horses foundered recently and I’m not sure what caused it. I suspect there was a large fruit drop from the persimmon and plum trees after the big flood in June. The problems caused by eating something …
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This Beaver is One Heck of an Optimist
This beaver must possess tremendous optimism. Either that or he’s a long-term strategist, or both! Most farmers dislike beavers with a passion bordering hatred. The reason why that is, at least for the ones I asked, is because they’re always …
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A New Thing – Wild Ozark Serial Fiction
Short Stories Serial fiction delivered to your inbox in 100-300 word segments each day until the story is finished. Wild Ozark Newsletter This is just a short message to invite you to join me for short sections of a short …
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Abu Dhabi Engages All Five Senses
There are two sounds I’ll associate with Abu Dhabi for the rest of my life. Sounds The first is the sound of prayer during the dark wee hours of the night. It’s a haunting sound, one I liked even if …