It’s Time to Plan what to do with 2022
So far the only firm date on the spring schedule, or all of next year, is the Master Gardener’s Convention in Springdale, AR. It’s time to plan what to do with 2022!
Spring
Hermit Journal Updates | Early Spring Activities
It’s been a busy past couple of weeks here at Wild Ozark. Early spring and warmer weather brings a flurry of activity here at Wild Ozark. I’ve been working on our garden, grinding more rocks, and generally just enjoying the warmer weather. The temps are still cool enough for a jacket mornings and evenings, but …
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Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) in Ozark pigments
Originally, I had planned to do a series of my favorite woodland plants in grayscale. But that was before I found the stone that gives me a sort of green pigment. So changed up the plans a little. Now I’m doing a series of our orchids in my full palette of pigments. First is this …
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Hermit Diaries | May 2, 2020 | Wild Ozark
With the nice weather we’ve had for the past few days, I’ve been working in the garden. My hermit diaries really don’t reflect a life much different than ordinary life out here at Wild Ozark, though. The only real difference is the presence of Chloe and my new role as homeschool teacher and constant companion. …
Coronavirus Hermit| Fences, Gardens, Memories & Lilacs
One day I’ll change the title of this from ‘Coronavirus Hermit’ to plain old ‘Wild Ozark Hermit’ journal entries. I’m digging the staying at home deal, to tell you the truth. The only drawback is that there’s limited outlets for making an income from out here, but I’ve been working on stocking my online shop …
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Check the Fences… and Waterfalls
I didn’t intend to check the fences on the steep side of our property this evening. I say the ‘steep side’ as if there is only one. Ha. No. Most of the sides on our square-shaped 160 acres are steep. At the very least none of it is level. Anyway, the plan was to feed …
The Sound of a Flock of Goldfinches
Today as I was driving the 4-wheeler down the driveway to go check the mail, I heard the sound of a thousand birds in the trees. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but maybe not. It was a big crowd of noisy American goldfinches flitting around the treetops by the gate. A few days ago I saw a …
Two Screech Owls in a Tree
This morning before I left the house to go to the post office, I briefly thought about whether I should grab the camera or not. I decided to not. It had been a few days since I’d last caught even a glimpse of the screech owl that lives by the gate. So I didn’t have …
Early April in the Ginseng Habitat
Every year the same flowers bloom in pretty much the same order. And although I have hundreds of images in my files, I can’t help but start heading out with the camera. The blooms start in early April in the ginseng habitat. The first flowers that bloom are usually the toothwort (formerly of the Dentaria …
If the Creeks Don’t Rise… Springtime in the Ozarks
Wild Ozark will be at Terra Studios tomorrow. But with the rain we might get overnight and in the morning, the odds are looking poor. If I can’t make it there on Saturday, then on Sunday I should be able to make it. Springtime in the Ozarks usually means more rain. UPDATE: I made it …
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Orioles at Orange Slices, Bird in the Chimney
Not the sports team, but the oriole birds have been daily visitors for about a week now. Orioles are a species that had been on my sighting wish list since we moved to the Ozarks. They migrate through our area on their way to Maryland (I suppose they’re going to Maryland-isn’t that where the team’s …
Enjoy Nature: Phlox and Fiddleheads
Here’s a little inspiration to get outside on this beautiful sunny day and enjoy nature. Phlox is blooming and casting joyful purple splashes all around the Wild Ozark hills and woods, and the fiddleheads are unfurling.
Finding the Horses on a Drizzly Easter Sunday Morning
On Sundays I generally sleep late. The alarm goes off every other day at 0500, but on Sundays I have no alarm at all and my body takes full advantage of that fact. I do not ordinarily wake up planning to go off on a walkabout mission finding the horses. Finding the horses is never …
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Things I’ve Heard but Never Seen- Spring Peepers
How many things have you heard but never seen? One that confounds me every year is a little frog. Today was a very windy and warm day, warm enough to make it easy to work up a sweat while helping Rob with firewood this morning. I can’t remember a sweaty February day before. The peepers …
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PawPaw Seedling Hiding in the Hickories
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 to tell the difference is the leaf arrangement. When they’re both older, it’s much easier to see that the leaves are arranged differently on the …
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 the leaf litter at the base of the stems. Mayapple The mayapples are blooming too. …
Early Spring Plants of the Woodlands in Madison County Arkansas
I got a late start photographing the early spring plants this year (2017). They started without me and I’ve already missed some of them. These are some of the plants unfurling and blooming on April 1 in the woodland habitats here at Wild Ozark. Early Spring Plants This late afternoon shot of fern fiddleheads is …
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What’s Blooming at the end of May?
Wild Ozark plants blooming at the end of May I took a little walkabout yesterday to photograph some of the flowers that are setting berries, blooming, or getting ready to bloom right now. Yesterday’s post highlighted the orchid I’d been waiting to see bloom. The ginseng pics were also added to the “Ginseng Habitat Through the …
Water Over the Bridge-Videos
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 …
A Woodland Habitat – Dragons among the Nettles and Cohosh
There’s a particular woodland habitat at the far corner of our property that I love. The variety of plants that grow there is amazing. It’s the perfect place for American ginseng, but those plants have nearly been extirpated by diggers foraging the hillsides of our area. It’s too far from the house for me to …
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Sun Splashes, Tree Silhouettes and Flowering Woodland Herbs
The day was dreary for the most part, but just before sunset the sky brightened. And so I went out with the camera and managed to get a few photos of some of the flowering woodland herbs in the ginseng habitat before it got too dark. Diversions While Checking the Mail I’d gone to check …
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Solomon’s Seal Unfurling
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) There’s a nice patch of Solomon Seal at the front of the driveway that was so choked out last summer that I don’t think any of them got a chance to bloom. I was afraid they might not come back after that. And I wasn’t sure exactly which spot it was where …
Arnold’s First Rooster Crow
Arnold is a Fall chicken. He hatched from an egg, along with his three nestlings way back in October (I think). The clutch of eggs that had hatched shortly before his fell prey to a large black rat snake. You might remember my FB post about that. It takes about six months from hatch to …
PawPaw Flower Bud
The PawPaw tree is a ginseng companion plant, or ginseng indicator plant. It often grows where ginseng grows, but is also often found in areas with more sunlight. Here at Wild Ozark it is a fairly good indicator of great ginseng habitat, but it also grows prolifically on the edge between forest and field, marking …
Sights and Sounds of Spring
The sounds of spring fills the night air now. Spring Peepers are calling! The only visible signs of spring so far as I can see are the bits of wild onion grass growing with a bit more spright than usual. And the chickweed is making my garden look like it already needs to be weeded. …