The Ozark winds of March have been blowing strong since maybe before March even began. But last night really trumped all of our weather-related excitement.
I knew there was a tornado possibility before I went to sleep. The weather forecasts …
Category: Nature
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Get Outside in Nature! America’s National Parks Celebration
Every year, the U.S. National Park Service offers free park entrance days at America’s National Parks. Today was a free day, and I’ve missed the boat for that one. The next free days are April 15-16 & April 22-23: National …
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Sunrises, Opportunities and Rising Early
Beautiful sunrise. Seeing the sunrise is one of many daily opportunities.
I have lots of photos of Gloria, the tree silhouetted above. But most of them are not about the sky behind her far-reaching limbs. Most are simply about the …
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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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Feathered Rovers, a Poem
A little time alone watching a flock of birds in the woods today inspired a poem.
My poetry is infrequent and when the drive to write one hits, I just have to get it out of my head. And since …
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Ginseng Habitat Demonstration Garden
Announcement: The garden will NOT be open during May 2019. It will be open during April, and from June through September.
The Wild Ozark Ginseng Garden
This is a restored habitat where you can see and learn about American ginseng …
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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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Special Little Snowflakes
First Snowfall 2017
A couple of snowflakes flurried around the other day, but today is the day I’m counting as Wild Ozark’s first official snowfall of 2017.
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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 …
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End of Autumn and Letting Go of Clutter
The end of autumn brings me to a state of feeling introspective. Depression, melancholy maybe, or just a need to be alone with my thoughts for a little while … It’s not “sadness”, and it’s not a negative thing. It’s …
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Perseverance
If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I’m stubborn and don’t give up easily. And I draw a lot of inspiration from nature.
This snail is steadfastly going over obstacles that could proportionately be called boulders. I …
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Hornet’s Nest & The last of the fall color at Wild Ozark
A hornet’s nest to decorate with has long been on my wish-list. Around here, they don’t survive very long in the wild because cliff or chimney swifts tear up their nests to make the plaster for their own nests.
There …
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Rewind: Between Autumn and Winter: A Liminal Space
We’re in a holding pattern at Wild Ozark right now, which is in its own way a sort of liminal space. Rob has two hernias and we’re waiting for the surgeon’s office to call with his appointment day/time.
So while …
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Imposter by Nature – Hognose Snake
Valerie, don’t read this post… it’s about a hognose snake and there are pictures 😉
Situational Awareness Lesson
This is a negative lesson. Don’t do what I do. Luckily for me, it wasn’t as bad a situation as it could …
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Get in Shape with Nature- Starting out the Day Hot & Sweaty
This morning kicked off my first effort at returning to a daily walk/jog routine. It’s time to get in shape after 6 months of trying to take it easy.
Get in Shape
I can’t *really* jog yet. My knee is …
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Ginseng Growing Season is Winding Down, Digging Winding Up
Ginseng Growing Season
The ginseng growing season is winding down now. The plants set berries earlier and most of them have ripened and fallen to the ground already. Some of the plants will soon begin turning yellow most years. We’ve …
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Unveiling Wild Ozark’s New Logo
It’s time for a new logo, and a permanent one. It’s taken me a few years of working on Wild Ozark to finally figure out what exactly it is that ties all of the things we do together.
Why a
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Ozark Backroad Photo Journey – Come Along for the Ride
Whenever I go away from the house alone, I take my camera. A simple run to the post office or to town becomes an Ozark Backroad Photo Journey. I generally try not to do this when I have passengers or …
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Mushrooms are Rising and Fall is in the Air at Wild Ozark
With all the rain we’ve been having, and the cool mornings for the past couple of days, the fungi are loving above ground life. This morning there were mushrooms galore!
Fall is Coming
Have you noticed fall in the air …
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Tiny Pretty Things
Lots of tiny pretty things catch my eye.
A little flash of red caught my eye yesterday when I was working on repairs to the horses’ gate.
At the moment I was unable to move the grass aside to see …
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Slugs and Dragons and Ginseng, Oh My! Wild Ozark Creations
I’ve been working on a few new Wild Ozark creations lately. This creative streak seems to have no end in sight, either, because ideas just keep coming and I keep feeling compelled to follow them through.
Slugs
This is the …
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Custom Drawing – “Slug on Poison Ivy”
This is a custom drawing of a slug on poison ivy. In this post I’ll show you the process I use for drawing a picture with Prismacolor pencils. This particular nature drawing is for a business card client.
First, the
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Prettiest Rooster Contest
Do you have a pretty rooster?
Wild Ozark is hosting a contest to see who has the prettiest roosters out there.
Send in your entries!
11 Winners will get a free 2017 calendar featuring the prettiest roosters entered into our …
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Balanced Asymmetry and Order in Chaos in Nature, Work, and Art
Note: an edited and better composed version of this is posted over at Medium.
I’ve been in a crafty mood lately. It’s probably safe to say I’m always in a crafty mood. I think I’ve finally figured out why.…
