Winter Storms and the Nature of Being Human

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

Excerpted in part from A Journey of Seasons: A Year in the Ozarks High Country

Ice storms in the Ozarks often have disastrous outcomes and warnings of them are often taken more seriously than those of tornadoes.  Indeed, an ice storm can wreak incredible havoc.  Besides making driving and even walking incredibly treacherous, as little as a half-inch of freezing rain can easily snap large tree branches, flatten shrubs and small trees, pull down power lines and cave in greenhouses, sheds and carports.  Accumulations of more than that can, quite literally, snap full-grown trees in half.  Yet, despite their potential for disaster, ice storms are not only beautiful, but often bring us humans closer together.

The New Day

By Kathleen Gresham Everett

As the old year slinks away into the night
I will throw my shoes at its shadow
Shaking the dusty months from my clothes,
I will wear my cap and shirt inside out
So the old minutes and seconds can’t cling
Like a bad smell
I will salt the earth where the previous days
Stretched on and on
Assuring they will not
Follow me into the new year
When the New Years Eve bonfire is burning
I will gather the bitter herbs
And walk counter clock wise into the previous moments
Casting the hated bouquet into the flame
Leaving its acrid taste behind
With the smell of its grief and sorrow

Only then will I wreath my head with four leaf clovers
Fill my pockets with new pennies
And my trunks with rabbit’s feet and horseshoes
And walk bravely into the coming year
Head held high and with cheerful optimism
I will greet the new day

© 2012 Kathleen Gresham Everett – posted with permission.

Kathleen Everett is a writer and poet living in the Missouri Ozarks.  Kathleen’s blog, The Course of Our Seasons features her eloquent poetry as well as articles and photography focused on the seasons of the Ozarks region.

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Alley Spring: An Ozark Landmark (Part II)

Part Two
By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

The Ozarks are famous for their grist mills in the way Vermont is famous for its fall colors, or Maine for its maple syrup and Pennsylvania for its covered bridges.  Last week we talked about the history and historic significance of Alley Mill and one cannot talk about the mill and not mention the stunningly beautiful spring-fed mill pond.   Yet, as impressive as those things are, what I really love about Alley Spring – and what my little botanists’ heart craves most – is  the plant-watching.

Alley Spring: An Ozark Landmark (Part I)

Part One
By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

When Dean and I get visitors from out of town who want to see something of the real Ozarks, we often take them down to Alley Spring down in Shannon County along the banks of the Jack’s Fork River.  We bring our visitors here because we know that regardless of their age, physical ability or interests, everyone can find something to love about one of the Ozarks most beloved historic sites and natural areas.

Keep It Local: Good Fun for a Great Cause

Show Me Oz

Whenever you buy locally produced goods and services from businesses and individuals, most of your hard-earned money stays at home where it works to build a stronger, more economically vital and self-sufficient community.  In fact, the most important aspect of a sustainable community starts with local food production.

Nathanael Greene-Close Memorial Park and Botanical Center

By Jill Henderson

A couple of weeks ago I found myself needing to drive to Springfield to have a seat in my car replaced. The operation wasn’t going to take very long and since we don’t get to Springfield very often, Dean and I, along with our friend Tom, set out to make a day of it.  After we left the repair shop we headed over to the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center to meet my friend, George Deatz, for a personal tour of the gardens.  All of us thought the plants would be withered and dried up from a brutal summer of heat and drought, but we were in for a real surprise.

Keep It Funny!

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz -

There are so many laments about the bugs in the Ozarks that if they were compiled into a book it would never end. How do you even begin to tell outsiders about the insects that inhabit our Oz? If you’ve got a vicious sense of humor, you could just let them wade into the chest-deep grass and work it out later – they’re not going to believe you anyway. If I told a person unfamiliar with these parts that the insects in the Ozarks would carry off their children if they didn’t keep them tied down, do you think they’d believe me? I suspect not, but every Ozarker who reads this knows it’s the truth.

A Gardener’s Dream

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz -

Almost a year ago now, my husband and I settled down into our latest ‘new place’. We’ve lived quite the nomadic lifestyle over the last 20 years, moving to another house, state, or even country every few years.  In every case where it was physically possible, the first thing we did after unpacking our bags was to dig a garden.  We have hand dug and landscaped more acres of land than my back will allow me to remember, but each and every one of those gardens were lovingly created, tended and enjoyed by us for as long as we had to enjoy them.  And while it was always difficult to say goodbye, we never regretted a single one of them.

The Hillbilly Stereotype and the Modern Ozarker

For many years I have written about the Ozarks.  Most of the time I write about the natural landscape and the plants and creatures that inhabit it.  But that’s not where my love for this place ends.  For what is a place without its people, its culture and how it sees itself compared to the rest of the world and how the rest of the world sees them?  Ask anyone who doesn’t live here about the Ozarks and most will eventually use the word hillbilly in some shape or form.

The Ozarks Sustainability Festival

The 5th Annual Ozarks Sustainability Festival will be held this Sunday, May 20th from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM in West Plains, MO.

As always, the festival will be a free, fun-filled day of learning for the entire family with a focus on sustainable skills, homesteading, small farming self-sufficiency, natural health, alternative energy and much, much more!   This year’s festival is again chock-full of live demonstrations, hands-on workshops and just-for-kids activities.  There’s even going to be a native plant walk right on the grounds!  Keynote speakers will present discuss topics such as urban homesteading, transportation, emergency preparedness, natural remedies, seed saving, aquaponics, making tinctures and alternative energy for the home, just to mention a few!  See the full list of speakers and demonstrators below.

A Successful Community Seed Swap

On March 1st, the community of West Plains, Missouri, held their first-ever community seed swap!  It was a fun and busy day with over 35 people in attendance.  Dubbed the Ozarks Pot Luck & Seed Swap, my dream was to bring together area gardeners to share their knowledge and experience with other gardeners and to promote the concept of saving one’s own seed.   I was understandably nervous in the hours leading up to the swap, but all that quickly flew out of the window when I walked into the facility to find a room full of friends who had arrived early and were already setting up the tables! 

Share the Seed: How a Seed Swap Works

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Swapping seeds is both fun and addictive. I remember the first time I began swapping seeds with other seed-junkies in 1999, using a then obscure method of communication known as the internet.  Back then, most of the people I knew did not have or even know what email was.  Finding a group of people who loved to trade and talk seed was like finding a long-lost friend.  I was instantly hooked, both with seed swapping and the internet!

The Journey Continues…

It has been a long and eventful year and I would like to say “thank you” to all who have supported me as I fulfilled a crazy desire to blog about those things for which I am passionate – homesteading, nature, gardening, edible and medicinal plants and of course, the Ozarks. Since I began Show Me Oz in July of 2010, I have written and posted over 70 articles – an undertaking that has been both challenging and rewarding!

Historic Hotel Seeks Artistic Future

By Jill Henderson

In the small town of Berryville, Arkansas, a piece of Ozarks history is slowly re-emerging from the past, thanks to two dedicated souls with a dream. Six years ago, Alexander Virden and his partner Sandra Doss, sold everything they owned – including their own home – to finance the restoration of a 109 year old landmark known as the Grand View Hotel. Their dream – to turn the abandoned and condemned beauty into a thriving community arts center and local gathering place. After pouring all of their own money into completing the main floor, the duo now lack the resources to fully complete their dream of a non-profit center for the arts. This is their story.

Lawnmowers and Strangers

By Jill Henderson

After a long summer of bashing against rocks, half buried stumps, and knee-deep grass the Ozarks finally killed our lawnmower.   We worked that machine pretty hard and despite regular maintenance, managed to break just about every part there was to break.

Joplin, Missouri

I tried to write an article for todays posting, but I just could not focus on anything but the news coverage of the terrible tragedy unfolding  in Joplin, Missouri, after a massive tornado ripped through the center of town last night in a destructive force that leveled a huge swath through the center of town.

We send our prayers out to all those who have lost loved ones or who have been injured or lost their homes in this terrible event and to all those who are still missing or trapped beneath the rubble awaiting rescue.  And thanks and prayers for the safety of the brave men and women who rushed to the scene to help. 

For every dark cloud there is a ray of light.

Bless you all.

4th Annual Ozarks Sustainability Festival

If you live in the Ozarks region, you don’t want to miss the 4th Annual Ozarks Sustainability Festival in West Plains, MO this Sunday, May 15th!

Started by Mary and Skip Badiny of Maranatha Farms, the Ozarks Sustainability Festival was begun as a way to promote simple, sustainable lifestyles and living skills.  The first festival was held in the lush gardens of the Badiny’s farm and has been growing ever since, with last fall’s festival drawing in over 1500 people.

Say Cheese: A Dying Family Industry

By Jill Henderson

At one time in the not so distant past, the central Ozark region was well-known for its rich and productive dairy farms.  As few as ten years ago, you didn’t have to travel far before coming across rolling pastureland dotted with the distinctive black and white patches of Holstein heifers grazing the green, green grass of home. 

Closest to Everlastin’: Ozark Agricultural Biodiversity and Subsistence Traditions (Part Three)

By Brian C. Campbell
University of Central Arkansas

  Agroecological Knowledge:

Ozarkers who engage in agrobiodiverse farming have knowledge of their environment and the species within it that allow them to survive (agroecological knowledge).  They utilize both wild and domesticated species, observe their behavior and interrelationships, and apply that information to use in gastronomy and agriculture.

Closest to Everlastin’: Ozark Agricultural Biodiversity and Subsistence Traditions (Part Two)

By Brian C. Campbell
University of Central Arkansas

Willodean: Ozark Subsistence Traditions in the Present

On a spring day in 2009 I visited the home of Kenneth and Willodean Smyth in Marshall, Arkansas.  They live a mere six blocks off the main highway, but their fifteen acres boasts a very large garden, fruit trees, nut trees, blackberry brambles, chicken coops, a humble,