Category: Nature

  • Day 8: Nature Journal Series

    Acorn on Weathered Stick

    Wild Ozark Nature Journal Entry: Day 8, Acorn on Weathered Stick

     

     

    Nature Journal entry from Day 8.

    About this journal entry

    On Day 8 of my daily journaling stint, I couldn’t help reflecting on the sounds of trees dying in the distance. Chainsaws and crashing …

  • The Last Snow of 2017

    This morning I woke to the sparkly glitz of snow flurries. We’ve hardly had any snow at all this winter so far. Just a bare dusting a week or two ago, and that’s it.

    When the sun came out, the …

  • Using a Spring for Water – Winter Issues

    When you rely on a spring for water, you need a tank. This is our 1500 gallon water collection tank.
    When you rely on a spring for water, you need a tank. This is our 1500 gallon water collection tank.

    Using a spring for water requires more effort than relying on tap water. Sometimes, just because you turn on the …

  • How Ginseng Stewardship Also Benefits the Landowner

    Someone asked me yesterday about how ginseng stewardship benefits the landowner. It stumped me at first, because I’d never considered it from that angle.

    What is Stewardship?

    To steward something is to manage or take care of something. The short …

  • A Couple of Photos from Today: Mossy Oak Limbs and Our Dirt Road

    I find certain trees are just as beautiful in winter as they are the rest of the year. This old tree with her mossy oak limbs is one of my favorite photo subjects.

    Mossy Oak Limbs

    The mossy oak limbs of Gloria.

    Our Dirt Road

    Here’s …

  • Sun Sparkles

    Sun Sparkles

    On this day in 2015, we had snow and sun sparkles. So far this year it’s been unseasonably warm and no snow so far. That could change this weekend, though – snow is in the forecast!

    Since we haven’t had …

  • Book a Forest Folk Workshop Near You!

    Want a Workshop Close to You?

    If you’d like to host, or know somewhere good to have a workshop, get in touch. I’m willing to travel within 50 miles of Kingston, AR for groups of at least 10. Cost …

  • Through Ice and Mud We Go – Bringing Hay to Horses

    Through Ice and Mud

    Whether through ice and mud, or snow, or rain or wind, kind of like the postman’s creed to deliver mail, we must deliver hay to the horses.

    It’s easy to stay in touch with the wheel

  • Day 7: Nature Journal Series

    Christmas Fern

    Nature journal entry Day 7 Christmas Fern

     

    About this journal entry

    On Day 7 of my daily journaling stint, I decided to draw the Christmas fern. These ferns are often present in good ginseng habitat. So it’s known as a companion plant, or indicator …

  • Day 6: Nature Journal Series

    Lobelia inflata in Late Summer

    Nature Journal entry, Day 6 - Lobelia inflata

     

    About this journal entry

    Lobelia inflata is one of my most treasured wild-crafted herbs. It grows around us here like a “weed”, and most would never think it to be a useful plant. It’s …

  • Day 5: Nature Journal Series

    Little Orange Mushroom

    Day---005-Little Orange Mushroom

     

    About this journal entry

    It’s amazing how quickly an hour flies by when you are trying unsuccessfully to figure out how to do something.

    On another note, I’m finding that it is getting harder to focus …

  • Day 4: Nature Journal Series

    Ground Cherry

    Ground cherry drawing from my nature journal.

    About this Entry

    The inklings of trouble is starting to reveal itself already.

    “This one will be much easier,” I thought as I settled on a subject for today’s entry. It is all mostly green, with hardly any …

  • Making Twig Art: Gumball Folk Bride and Groom

    My granddaughter stayed the night with us last night and today I thought we could make some twig art together. She wanted us to make a bride and groom Forest Folk pair, so we went outside to gather some botanicals.…

  • Finding Ginseng After the Leaves Fall

    It’s hard to find ginseng after the leaves fall.

    If you’re looking for more information about ginseng, or the prices forums for each year, check at the ginseng.wildozark.com blog or email me. I’ve moved most of the ginseng related …

  • Day 3: Nature Journal Series

    Sycamore Leaf

    Day 3, Sycamore Leaf

     

    About the Wild Ozark Nature Journal

    I’m slowly scanning my nature journal entries and adding them to this blog.

    Some of you may have already seen these, because I started this a few years ago and then …

  • Day 2: Nature Journal Series

    Asters Hanging Down

    Day 2, Asters Hanging Down

     

    About the Wild Ozark Nature Journal

    I’m slowly scanning my nature journal entries and adding them to this blog.

    Some of you may have already seen these, because I started this a few years ago and …

  • Day 1: Leaf and Rock, Nature Journal Series

    Day 1: Leaf and Rock

     

    About the Wild Ozark Nature Journal

    I’m slowly scanning my nature journal entries and adding them to this blog.

    Some of you may have already seen these, because I started this a few years …

  • Last of the Fall Colors 2017

    I spent a little time down the road today trying to capture the last of the fall colors for the year. The wind has been gusting pretty hard and many of the leaves have fallen.

    It seems that every year, …

  • Treasure Found on a Misty Autumn Morning Walk

    Most mornings, after I feed the animals, I go for a walk down the driveway. Today I brought the camera, so it wasn’t as much for exercise as it was for pleasure and to gather treasure.

    I look for botanical …

  • Test Firing the Native Clay – Failure and Success

    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 …

  • Rambling On about the To-Do List

    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 …

  • October Color at Wild Ozark

    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 …

  • Acorn People are a Great a Way to Justify Collecting Things

    Acorn People are a Great a Way to Justify Collecting Things

    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 …

  • Things Collected During My Morning Mile

    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, …

  • Pixies – Miniatures by Madison Woods

    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.

    The Pixies from 2017:

    Pixies are the most …