Category: Homestead
Blog posts or photos that have to do with homesteading in the rural Ozarks of northwest Arkansas.
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Revert to Wild | Catching up after a trip away from Wild Ozark
Everything reverts to wild when left alone for long at Wild Ozark. I’m still catching up after a trip to TX, but finally getting a little time to make this post. It’s going to mostly be a photo essay, because … Read the rest “Revert to Wild | Catching up after a trip away from…
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Groundhog that lives under the shed
For several days lately I’ve been hearing a squeaky ‘weeee’ sound coming from under the shed. Today I also heard wood being gnawed. There’s a groundhog that lives under the shed, and I think she has babies. The old shed … Read the rest “Groundhog that lives under the shed”
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Yesterday was a Water Line Repair Day
If you read my previous post about the bath water stopping as I was filling the tub night before last, you might be curious to see what we found to be the problem. The entire day yesterday was a water … Read the rest “Yesterday was a Water Line Repair Day”
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No Relaxing Bath for Me
Running my bathwater, preparing to relax my tired body after a day of weed-eating. Trying to not think ahead to the several more days of weed-eating on my list of things to do. But… no relaxing bath for me. At … Read the rest “No Relaxing Bath for Me”
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Woven Willow – using one of Nature’s Renewable Resources
A while back I posted about the woven willow fence I was building as a retaining wall in my garden. Since then I have come to love willow branches. They’re one of my favorites of nature’s renewable resources now. After … Read the rest “Woven Willow – using one of Nature’s Renewable Resources”
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Wattle Fence: a Garden Project Spilling Over to Garden Art Project
I’m working on a project in my garden. It started with a wild hair to do something for free using local natural and abundant resources- a woven, or wattle fence. It’s an experiment as most things I do are. … Read the rest “Wattle Fence: a Garden Project Spilling Over to Garden Art Project”
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Pulling a Tree, Hunting Salamander Eggs
The other day I helped Rob with pulling a tree out of the woods by the driveway. It’s one that fell last year, but we are just now getting around to retrieving it. During a break, I went hunting for … Read the rest “Pulling a Tree, Hunting Salamander Eggs”
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Looking back on 20 years of roughing it in the Ozarks – Happy Thanksgiving 2025
This is a gratitude story about surviving the hardships of making the leap from a suburban life to rural and remote. I wrote this post in 2015 to celebrate a decade out here at Wild Ozark, and these are all … Read the rest “Looking back on 20 years of roughing it in the Ozarks…
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Artful Use for Rocks: Building a raised stone path
I use the rocks here to make my paints, but I also use them in other practical ways – and it’s still artful use! I’m building a raised stone path in my garden. Rockwork in a way is like using … Read the rest “Artful Use for Rocks: Building a raised stone path”
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Herbal Care Gift Set 2024
Yesterday I made the decoction and infusion for the Winter Crud syrup that goes into my annual herbal care gift set that I make for each of my adult children’s households. The other items include a bottle of sting oil, … Read the rest “Herbal Care Gift Set 2024”
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Little Things can Make a Big Impact
It’s so easy to get caught up on the big things – the huge projects, major hurdles, or life in general. Sometimes it can get overwhelming. I think that noticing those small accomplishments, moments, and experiences that make up the … Read the rest “Little Things can Make a Big Impact”
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Check the Spring Tank
When it’s a drought, we monitor our water usage more closely than when it isn’t so dry outside. When it gets like this, before I do anything that uses a lot of water, like washing clothes, I take a hike … Read the rest “Check the Spring Tank”
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Checking the Spring Seep
The ‘Seep’ is where the ground stays wet on the far end of the horse’s field. Since it’s been so dry, I wondered if it had dried up too. Because if that spot is dry, then the creek is going … Read the rest “Checking the Spring Seep”
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Mindfulness | Hermit Diary
While the world was in Covid shutdowns, I’d begun making blog posts I called ‘Hermit Journals‘. While I’m glad we’re not still in lockdown, I miss making those entries. So I’m going to start them up again as … Read the rest “Mindfulness | Hermit Diary”
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My mind is on art, even while digging ditches, it seems
Even while doing sweat-inducing work totally unrelated to being creative, my mind is on art. Look at the color I found while I was digging a ditch 🙂 Needless to say, I had a pocket full of rocks by the … Read the rest “My mind is on art, even while digging ditches, it seems”
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Tasks that Need Doing & Thinking of Market Days
We’re always pretty busy around here, but during market season it’s busier still. There’s products to package, and things to do around the homestead. Well, the task list of things to do around the homestead never ends, but some things … Read the rest “Tasks that Need Doing & Thinking of Market Days”
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Rural Life in the Ozarks | Winter
I love our rural life in the Ozarks, where everything urban is at least 45 minutes away, and there’s a long dirt road to get to pavement. The wildlife and scenery inspire me on a daily basis. But it has … Read the rest “Rural Life in the Ozarks | Winter”
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Running Errands, Preparing for Bad Weather
The approaching weekend and the week after has foreboding forecasts, so today I spent the day running errands. And preparing for bad weather. That usually means COLD weather out here. The only other thing we get during warmer months is … Read the rest “Running Errands, Preparing for Bad Weather”
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Cutting Firewood, an Endless Homestead Task
Today is Christmas day and the family festivities are over. I had taken some pictures the other day with the intention to write a blog post about firewood, an endless homestead task. But time got away from me and so … Read the rest “Cutting Firewood, an Endless Homestead Task”
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An Herbal Remedy for Winter Crud featuring Mullein, Beebalm, and Echinacea
Here’s my 2023 recipe for an herbal remedy I use every year to combat what we’ve come to call “Winter Crud”. We also take it at the first sign of anything that feels like trouble coming on. This year’s formula … Read the rest “An Herbal Remedy for Winter Crud featuring Mullein, Beebalm, and Echinacea”
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My Real Name: Roxann Riedel
Today I went to the Madison County Sheriff’s office to get fingerprinted. I expected to have black finger tips all day, but they don’t do it with ink pads anymore. They use something like a scanner instead, so that was … Read the rest “My Real Name: Roxann Riedel”
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Hiking up the Mountain
This morning I went hiking up the mountain to check on our water tank. It’s been very dry here for the whole summer, and the recent rains haven’t added anything to the creeks. The creeks are almost completely dry. Every … Read the rest “Hiking up the Mountain”
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Making a Temporary Fix in the Morning, Painting in the Afternoon
I was mending fences with a temporary fix in the morning, painting in the afternoon, and keeping a close eye on Rob in between. Temporary Fix, Twice and a Dead Battery Thursday morning, when Rob took his morning walk, I … Read the rest “Making a Temporary Fix in the Morning, Painting in the Afternoon”
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Stonework is Also Artwork
Aside from using the rocks around here for making my paints, I love using stonework to make my garden terraces and stairways to wind through those terraces. Today I added another step to the stairway on the front end of … Read the rest “Stonework is Also Artwork”
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When Life Throws a Curveball
Little things crop up unexpectedly from time to time, like a hailstorm in late May or squirrels eating all of the pears when they’re almost ripe. Sometimes life throws a big curveball, though. Such an event happened here at Wild … Read the rest “When Life Throws a Curveball”
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