Category: Musings
This is an index of posts that fall into my “Musings” category. Usually it’s on a topic that has no other defined focus, but sometimes these are also my philosophical-type posts. Subscribe to Wild Ozark™ » Musings by Email
-
Long Dirt Road: Why it Takes me an Hour to Drive 12 Miles
This is a post from a few years ago that I love, so I’m reposting it. We live down a long dirt road. This little facet of our lives is the main thing that makes or breaks most newcomers to …
-
Journal Entry | 2 August 2023
My plan with this is to just jot down the little things I do each day that I think will be interesting to someone somewhere. If a Journal Entry is long enough to post by itself, I’ll hit publish. If …
-
Changing of the Seasons
It doesn’t feel like it outside, but inside of myself I can feel that autumn is on the way. The changing of the seasons is underway. There’s been a subtle shift, and every year when this point passes, I can …
-
Art Inspiration Moments on a Non-Art-Making Day
Even in a day full of non-art related tasks, there can be moments of art inspiration. Equine Escapees In the mornings after I get out of bed, I go outside on the porch to have my coffee and listen to …
-
Musings from an Ozark nature artist
I’m at an ‘in between’ time at the moment. Between rain showers and rainy days, between things scheduled on my calendar. And since I just finished a painting, I’m between paintings, too. But this is a great time for …
-
Plant Walk & Nature Journaling at Wild Ozark
There are other plant walks in Arkansas, but this one is probably a little different. The trails we’ll follow are deer trails and logging roads. The drive to get here is gorgeous. And the biodiversity here at Wild Ozark is …
-
The Why Behind a Painting
I got an invitation from Google to test out the new AI chatbot called Bard. So far I’ve tried it out for a few different things, mostly to draw up outlines for potential blog posts. Today I asked it to …
-
When I’m not Painting, and Something Woo-Woo About Me
There are days when I’m not painting, usually when I’m between paintings or stepping back from one in progress. On Saturdays when I’m at the studio in Alpena, I always like to at least get something small done or …
-
A Spiral Day
This morning I walked over to see if there’s grass growing in the horses’ field yet. After crossing over rocks in the creek, as I walked up the hill out of the creek valley, I found this fossil. It looks …
-
Art Goals | Life Goals, and my Word of the Year – Wild Ozark 2023
The image associated with this post is a single screech owl, but two photos taken successively. In one shot the owls’s eyes were closed and in the other they were open. So I put them together because there’s a lot …
-
…
-
2022 Yule Tidings | Solstice Review
Happy Solstice Day! It’s that time of year again, when the longest night of the year is upon us. Which in turn means that today is the shortest day of the year. After this, the days will incrementally grow a …
-
Is Art made through Magic, Intuition, or Knowledge?
I once heard it spoken in one of the great (virtual) hallways where educated artists gather, that an ‘intuitive artist’ doesn’t exist. That an artist only uses knowledge and conscious decisions to know what to do on their canvas – …
-
mermaid in a sea of swirling air
5 x 7″ Mermaid, varnished no glass needed. Original and prints available. mermaid in a sea of swirling air Gloria drops her leaves litter like silk puddles around her on the ground She’s nearly nude now * The wind rolls in like …
-
Hunting the Wild Ozark Orchids
This morning I wanted to go to a granddaughter’s Kindergarten graduation, but the bridges were flooded, so that was nixed. Then I decided that I’d wait for it to quit raining and then go out to get some better photos …
-
Yard-Work Day | Hermit Journal
Maybe this isn’t a very interesting post, lol, but it’s what I’m doing today. It’s yard-work day. All week is supposed to be rain-free, so the whole week is outdoor work-week. With all the rains we’ve had, the grass is …
-
Spring Rains in the Ozarks
This morning the thunder boomed me out of the bed at 0400. Winds shook the house and the lightning strobed like a Halloween haunted house. This is not the sort of weather that gives me the urge to sleep, ha, …
-
Hermit Journal | Early on a March Morning
Every morning I feed the horses and chickens. Once it gets close to spring, I also begin my ‘get-in-shape’ program. Come along with me to feed the horses before I head out for a jog and walk early on a …
-
Wild Ozark Hermit Report | Upcoming Shows
The weather is torturing me with spells of warm, sunny days followed by days of bitter cold and wind. I’m so ready for spring. But it’s been busy around here and I haven’t had a chance to make a blog …
-
Re-Creating the Forest Folk | Musings
I woke up yesterday morning with a burning desire to resurrect the Forest Folk I used to make. So I pulled some of my cleaned native clay out and started creating some body parts. I’ve had that clay stored …
-
Mistaken Identity | Sassafras or Osage?
I’d assumed the tree was a sassafras, and that bright orange bark peeling off in papery layers was sassafras root bark. But boy, I made a big mistake. I’ve spent a lot of years learning to identify the plants here, …
-
Unstoppable | Word of the Year | Goals for 2022
My personal life and business life has no boundaries between each other. So my goals for 2022 are equally blended. My ‘word of the year‘ applies to both, as well: unstoppable. Blog More Often – be unstoppable And …
-
2021 Year in Review
Rob came home from his overseas gig at the beginning of Dec. 2020, so 2021 was the first full year of him being home we’ve had in a while. It’s been busy! Here’s the Wild Ozark 2021 Year in Review. …
-
Jarrod Cluck | Nature Artist Interviews
This post kicks off what I hope to be a regular feature on my blog. Please give a big welcome to Jarrod Cluck, the first subject of my Nature-Influenced Artist Interviews. Jarrod is a native of small-town Rudy, Arkansas. He …
-
Encroachment Goes Both Ways | Striking a Balance
Most of the time nature encroachment refers to human activities encroaching on nature. However, my post today deals with nature encroaching on human activity – specifically, OURS. The Setting I like to leave as much of our property open to …