Category: Ozarks
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What’s Not to Love?
I titled this photo “What’s Not to Love?” because I love (almost) everything about living back here in the middle of nowhere. Heading home is always a pleasure. Once I turn off the pavement, the half hour it takes to …
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2018 Spring Awakening Watch – First Native Flowers of the Ozarks
It’s mid-March 2018 and I’m watching for the first native flowers of the Ozarks to start blooming. I particularly love the ephemeral blooms of early spring, like the bloodroot and Dutchmen’s breeches. Scroll down to see pictures and keep up …
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Vernal Witch Hazel Flowers and Hazelnut too!
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Today I went out to take cuttings from the Ozark Witch Hazel in the hopes of rooting them. I wasn’t looking for an American Hazelnut, but that’s what I found! I found the Witch Hazels, too. But I already knew …
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Relics of Seasons Past & Sepia-toned Beauty
I went in search of harbingers of spring but found only sepia colored relics of seasons past. Relics Not sure what the flower is, but it makes a pretty relic. This is one of my favorites – a dried wild …
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An Exploration of our Wild Ozark Bluff
Yesterday we took the day off from our usual daily work and hiked around Ozark bluff that follows our driveway. Every time we travel to and from the house, we look at it and comment that we’d like to get …
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Hiking to the Wild Ozark Corner Bluff
A while back, I posted about our exploration of the bluffs along the driveway. This time we went hiking to what I call the “Corner Bluff”. It’s not far away, either, but takes a bit of effort. Getting to …
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Guest Post: A Nature Enthusiast’s Guide to Southwest Missouri
A note from Madison: I get many requests by content providers to do guests posts here on the Wild Ozark blog. Most of the time, the subject matter isn’t closely related enough to nature or any of the site topics. …
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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 …
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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 …
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The Color of Cherry Leaves | Ozark Backroads Collection
These cherry leaves were such a brilliant golden yellow. They shined like a beacon in an otherwise bleak and dreary landscape. Glad I brought the real camera along for the ride to town yesterday. I think this would …
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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, …
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Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) at the creek’s edge in late August. It’s one of the showiest Lobelia species that grows in the Arkansas Ozarks.…
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Just a few Photos of Butterflies, Kings River, and a Ginseng
Not enough time to make a decent post lately, so figured I’d at least put up a few of the photos I’ve taken in the past few days of August. Click on them to make them larger.…
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Kings River, Looking at Rocks and Evading the Rain
Rain’s a’coming. We hiked around a few gravel bars along Kings River yesterday. Wild Ozark is not far from the headwaters of this locally important waterway, but other than what we see from the window as we drive over the …
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Tall Thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana)
Thimbleweed is a graceful, interesting native Ozark plant that grows along forest edges (also native to many other areas of the eastern United States). It is most often found in the dappled shade of liminal spaces between forest and clearing.…
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Woodland Flowers of June at Wild Ozark
It’s been awhile since I’ve wandered with the camera, but this morning on my way to town I brought the camera just so I could capture some of my favorite woodland flowers blooming along the driveway and county road. The …
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PawPaw Seedling Hiding in the Hickories
There’s a hickory hiding in there with the pawpaw seedlings. PawPaw seedlings look a lot like hickory seedlings. In the photo you can see who’s who, but without the labels it’s easy to mistake one for the other. One way …
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Black Cohosh or Doll’s Eyes? Companion Look A-Likes
Black Cohosh or Doll’s Eyes? Trying to differentiate between black cohosh and doll’s eyes before they come into bloom, has been frustrating. It’s very easy to tell once they begin the blooming process as the flower stems originate in different …
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April Spring flowers in the Ginseng Habitat
Lots of flowers in the ginseng habitat right now. The following are just a sample. Wild Ginger If you don’t mind getting down on the ground, you can see the wild ginger (Asarum canadense) blooming. Flowers are usually just below …
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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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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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Mailbox and Back in Under an Hour
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in Art Journaling, Herbalism, Herbs, Musings, Nature, Nature Writing, Ozarks, Photography, Plants, SummerYesterday I brought my camera with me when I went to the mailbox. If I had walked, I know it would have taken more than an hour because I would have seen so many more opportunities to stop and take …
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Installing a Culvert Retaining Wall was Today’s Homestead Project
Today I built a culvert retaining wall for the culvert on the shop driveway to keep it from washing out around the sides. I was grateful for the overcast and dreary day so I could do this work without getting …
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Dirt Road Photos – Ozark Sunset Silhouettes
Scene from the dirt road in the Ozarks of northwest Arkansas. The Ozarks from a Scenic Dirt Road I was driving home from my daughter’s house this evening as the sun began setting on our beautiful Ozark hills. Just so happened …
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The First Flowers of Spring at Wild Ozark
Nature lovers began the frenzy of watching for the first flowers of spring a few weeks ago. Here at Wild Ozark, we’re in a little eco-microcosm that is often more than a week behind surrounding areas in spring. Our temperatures …