Blog posts or photos that have to do with homesteading in the rural Ozarks of northwest Arkansas.
First Freeze It was 30*F when I looked outside this morning near daybreak. Honestly, it was somewhat after daybreak. Yesterday’s fun with the grandkids wore me plumb out and I slept like a rock past my alarm. Technically, the sun rises around 0600 but because of Wild Ozark’s narrow valley, it doesn’t shine through the …
I brought the camera with me this foggy morning to capture some of the beauty that surrounded me in the hushed quiet of our little Wild Ozark valley. When I came back in I sat on the porch and listened to the sapsuckers discussing the next leg on their journey. Mist muffled crows cawed and …
This morning I was feeding critters under a gentle patter of rain. There are times when I am tired or don’t feel like going out on my regular chore round, but for the most part I enjoy this part of my day. Even in the rain. Or maybe especially in the rain. I like doing …
Get “No Qualms” delivered to your inbox in daily short bites. Perfect for coffee break reading. And check out the cool leggings featuring one of my nature journal entries. One of my passions that I haven’t indulged much in lately is story writing. Until recently I’ve been working exclusively on nonfiction. Added to that I’ve been working …
Coffee Break Reading and some pretty cool Leggings Read More »
So brief it almost feels now like it was hallucination, rain fell this morning while I was out feeding the critters. The chickens were all like “what’s that wet stuff coming down from the sky?” It’s been many weeks since we had rain last and everything is bone dry, including most of the creek. It’s …
There is a silence accompanied by a misty morning that is unlike anything else. This morning I sat on the porch to have my morning coffee. The roosters refrained from crowing. The logging activity is either done or stopped for a break. Only the occasional drip of condensate from the porch could be heard. I …
An older post, but still representative. Eventually I’ll update it but for now, I’ll leave it alone: This is the second year since making Wild Ozark my full-time endeavor. Over the past year, I’ve noticed a life-cycle of sorts. It’s risen organically, and next year I hope to be more efficient at taking advantage of …
Looking for Lobelia Today I donned a surgical mask to go out and gather the seed pods of Lobelia inflata. Why the mask? Well, it’s the time of year when ragweed tries to assault me when I go outside. I’m hoping the mask helps alleviate tonight’s misery when the pollen launches the sneak attack. It’s …
Both of our horses foundered recently and I’m not sure what caused it. I suspect there was a large fruit drop from the persimmon and plum trees after the big flood in June. The problems caused by eating something like that don’t show up in the hooves for several weeks after the incident, so it’s …
There are lots of videos at YouTube about wasp vs mantis, but they always show the mantis winning. Today I saw a wasp carrying the head of a praying mantis. I saw one yesterday, too. I’ve found lots of info online about the mantis eating the wasps, but nothing about wasps eating them. The praying …
I’m a self-reliant writer for the most part. I’m also a homesteader and close to being a hermit (hermitress) these days. It would take a lot more money than I make at it to delegate any of the tasks, homesteaderly or otherwise, and more time than I want to spend waiting on traditional publishing so others …
A Homesteading Hermit Self-Reliant Writer’s To-Do List Read More »
Anyone who has ever ridden, or rather, *driven* a four-wheeler on a tree-lined path will know exactly why this four-wheeler is sporting a lovely branch of wilted leaves. It’s a “spider stick”. And it’s the person in front, if you’re riding double, who appreciates this little contraption most of all. I am not *scared* of spiders, I …
So, with all the rain here, and now with the truck being broken which means until the road mud dries up some I can’t go out anywhere, I’m doing some of the other things on my creative bucket list. I need a break from writing/editing/formatting from time to time, and *shakes head* housework is not …
*** Sorry, but this event has ended *** Join me in a “Review Round Robin” I’ll send you 10 Common Plants in paperback format, and none of this costs anything for you, not even postage (but you don’t get to keep the book, unfortunately – you’ll send it on to the next reviewer). 1. I’ll send you …
We have singing dogs. Every morning at sunrise when the rooster crows and the hens wake, and during the day when the chickens get all a-cluck over an egg laying, the dogs break into song with them. Does anyone else have singing dogs, especially in choir with chickens?
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 doing it. The snake didn’t bite, just coiled up and started rattling. This one took a long time before …
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. It’s blocking my path from the house to the camper and to the gate. …
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 other nests lately, and I suspect there’s a snake in the henhouse somewhere (again). …
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, hay harvests and rigs they need to work. My parents spent a terrifying night among …
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 pesky little buggers wouldn’t go up my nose. I pretty much needed to close my …
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. The berries aren’t ripe yet here at Wild Ozark. But maybe they are on top …
Something didn’t work right and the previous post went out with the wrong link. Here’s the right one: https://www.wildozark.com/10-common-plants/
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 the creek is this much into the driveway… Yep. Looks like I’ll be staying home …
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 link in the first sentence will take you to a page about the plant. It’s also …
Dragons Hatching, Clematis Blooming, and Feeding Horses in the Rain Read More »
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 boxes and up in the rafters but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Sooner or later …
