Blog

  • Rattlesnakes and Dogs don’t Mix – Snakebit dog

    A WildOzark Timber Rattler, Madison county AR
    A WildOzark Timber Rattlesnake

    They’re not aggressive. Really.

    This one just wanted to be left alone. It’s the second one I’d encountered that week, and both were relatively calm. Badger even stepped on the first one and didn’t notice until after …

  • The Slow Descent of an Ozark Mountain Landslide

    I’ve been observing and recording our slowly descending Ozark landslide. Leaning trees and driveway encroachment, photographed day by day.

    Since the flood last Monday I haven’t done a whole lot of cleanup. The main reason for that is the landslide.…

  • Egg-napping Marans

    I have two black marans setting eggs.

    Each hen was in a separate box, sitting on her own clutch of eggs. There are other boxes for the other hens to lay eggs in, too.

    I haven’t been finding eggs in …

  • The Impermanence of Things

    We’ve had a lot of rain in the last days here in the Ozark Highlands. 7 inches in a few hours Monday night. That’s too much rain for our little creeks and hollers.

    Lots of folks have lost homes, cattle, …

  • Rattlesnake at the Gate

    Rattlesnake at the gate

    Gnats have made it nearly impossible for me to stand being outside at my potting bench for very long.

    Yesterday I did the little bit of work I needed to do at it while trying not to breathe so the …

  • Unripe Fruit

    I have a hard time believing I have no pictures – at all – of ripe elderberry fruit. After digging through file after unfruitful file, I thought it might be faster to just go get a new photo.

    Not quite.…

  • What’s Blooming at the end of May?

    Wild Ozark plants blooming at the end of May

    I took a little walkabout yesterday to photograph some of the flowers that are setting berries, blooming, or getting ready to bloom right now.

    Yesterday’s post highlighted the orchid I’d been waiting …

  • Talk about Delayed Gratification! (Twayblade Orchid)

    I’ve been waiting a whole year to see this flower.

    When I first found the plant last summer there was only the two leaves. Without seeing a flower, it’s hard to positively identify a plant, unless that plant has something …

  • Water Over the Bridge-Videos

    When you can hear the roar of the wet-weather waterfall from the house, you know the water’s up. If you can see the waterfall from the front porch, it’s a fair bet the creek is way over the bridge.

    When …

  • Rainy Days are Writing “Bounty Hunter” Days

    Rainy Days are Writing “Bounty Hunter” Days

    It’s been raining off and on here since last night. It seems like it’s been raining every day since I can’t remember when. I’m tired of it and will be glad when the ground is dry and the creeks are …

  • A Woodland Habitat – Dragons among the Nettles and Cohosh

    There’s a particular woodland habitat at the far corner of our property that I love.

    The variety of plants that grow there is amazing.

    It’s the perfect place for American ginseng, but those plants have nearly been extirpated by diggers …

  • Dragons Hatching, Clematis Blooming, and Feeding Horses in the Rain

    Dragons Hatching, Clematis Blooming, and Feeding Horses in the Rain

    Dragons Hatching!

    Last fall I collected seeds from a large Green Dragon. I put the berries directly into pots and kept them overwinter in the ginseng nursery. The other morning I noticed they were hatching – er, sprouting! The …

  • Unwelcome Guest – Snake in the Hen-house

    Apparently there’s a snake in the hen-house. Looks like the hens had some stealthy company yesterday. The unwelcome guest left a bit of evidence behind for me to find this morning.

    I searched under all of the nexts and behind the …

  • What’s that plant good for?

    “What’s that plant good for?”

    A curious thing I’m noticing by selling plants at the market is that people almost always have the same question, phrased in various ways.

    It’s often the first thing they ask, in general about any …

  • A Ginseng Sanctuary at the Compton Gardens in Bentonville

    American Ginseng Sanctuary at Compton Gardens UPS signWild Ozark is honored and excited to be embarking on a long-term project in conjunction with Compton Gardens in Bentonville, Arkansas. This American Ginseng Sanctuary project is made possible, in part, by a grant from the United Plant Savers.

    This …

  • Sleuthing the Bellwort. Sessilifolia or Perfoliata?

    Sleuthing the Bellwort. Sessilifolia or Perfoliata?

    Sessilifolia or Perfoliata?

    Three species of bellwort are found in Arkansas: Uvularia grandiflora, U. sessilifolia, and U. perfoliata. The one I see most often around here is the grandiflora, or Large-flowered bellwort as it’s commonly called.

    Bellwort in the Ginseng

  • An Entourage of Green Ambassadors

    Show and Tell

    I took my little assembly of show and tell items, and a small entourage consisting of three Green Ambassadors on the road yesterday. We, or at least *I*, had been invited to speak to the Olli Group

  • Sun Splashes, Tree Silhouettes and Flowering Woodland Herbs

    The day was dreary for the most part, but just before sunset the sky brightened. And so I went out with the camera and managed to get a few photos of some of the flowering woodland herbs in the ginseng …

  • Solomon’s Seal Unfurling

    Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)

    There’s a nice patch of Solomon Seal at the front of the driveway that was so choked out last summer that I don’t think any of them got a chance to bloom. I was …

  • April 2015 Newsletter

    Welcome to the April 2015 Newsletter from Wild Ozark! For a plant lover, spring is an exciting time of year. This morning I found trout lilies blooming and blue cohosh unfurling! I try to get out to the woods every …

  • Potting up Goldenseal

    Potting up Goldenseal

    Wild Ozark potting table

    This is my beautiful workspace today where I’m potting up goldenseal, trout lilies and trying in vain to find any of the previously potted ginseng seeds sprouting.

    I’m thinking this year is going to be a poor one for new ginseng. …

  • Arnold’s First Rooster Crow

    Arnold is a Fall chicken. He hatched from an egg, along with his three nestlings way back in October (I think). The clutch of eggs that had hatched shortly before his fell prey to a large black rat snake. You …

  • The cost of doing (DVD) business with Amazon

    The cost of doing (DVD) business with Amazon

    Ever wondered how much an author makes per book or product through Amazon? Royalties aren’t bad for books and e-books. I get 70% on the ones that are listed exclusively through Amazon if the price is over $2.99, and 35% …

  • Beautiful Morning in the Ozarks

    I woke before dawn and dragged myself downstairs to get back to work where I’d left off with some last minute edits on the DVD near midnight last night. As the coffee brewed and my eyelids gained motivation to remain …

  • PawPaw Flower Bud

    The PawPaw tree is a ginseng companion plant, or ginseng indicator plant. It often grows where ginseng grows, but is also often found in areas with more sunlight. Here at Wild Ozark it is a fairly good indicator of great …