Wild Walk: A Touch of Winter

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

As the hours of daylight become blatantly shorter, the journey of seasons moves quickly towards the Great Sleep of Winter.   Despite the prolonged drought, Ozarkers everywhere enjoyed a most spectacular fall color display.  In all my years of living in the Ozarks, I can’t remember a fall as beautiful as this one.   But now that the Autumn show is over, the curtain is coming down in a torrent of swirling leaves and piling up in huge ankle-deep drifts that blanket the earth in gold.  And yet, the falling is far from over.   For even now, the leaves cling to the remnants of their arboreal lives – resisting their eventual future as rich dark humus and rattling their final farewells at the slightest breeze.

American Dittany: The Wild Oregano

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz -

Fall in the Ozarks is a treasure trove of wild edibles. As the wild mushrooms spring up from the ground, hickory nuts, black walnuts and persimmons are beginning to fall from the trees.  Indeed, even a short walk through the woods can fill the forager’s basket with little effort.  Among the many wonderful edibles ready to harvest this fall, American Dittany is definitely one of my favorites.  This dainty perennial herb is often overlooked by many wild foragers and herbalists because of its small size.  But don’t let appearances fool you – Dittany is a powerful medicinal herb that doubles as a flavorful seasoning in the kitchen!

Wild Walk: Goldenrod

By Jill Henderson

Today is the autumnal equinox, the point at which the sun is in line with the earth’s celestial equator. The position of the sun as it relates to our watery blue planet is a calendar by which all living things in nature keep time. In the northern hemisphere, this event marks the beginning of fall and the steady decent into the shorter cooler days of winter. And while fall is already evident in the changing leaves of sassafras and sumac, the meadow below my house is still lush and green. Having been left to its own devices for some time, the meadow is rife with ragweed, asters, and a flush of early goldenrod.

A Walk On the Wild Side: Elderberries

By Jill Henderson

The long, hot days of summer can sometimes be uncomfortable, but they are also a time of abundance in the natural world.  One look around reveals a myriad of fruiting plants, shrubs, trees and vines laden with nutrient rich foods and medicinal leaves and flowers.  And all it takes to fill one’s winter larder is a short walk about the landscape and a keen eye.   July is a particularly bountiful month in which one of my favorite wild edibles, the common elderberry, begins to set and ripen its delicious, nutritious and medicinal fruits.

Walking Across Boulders

By Allison Vaughn

During winter months, I take literally hundreds of photos that (upon a quick scan of each folder) all look the same: golden grass, gray trees, blue skies, dolomite boulders. I like the structure of the winter landscape, the silvery old growth chinquapin oaks, the open-grown post oaks, and the exposed geology.

Persimmon Pickin’ Time – Part II

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz -

In Persimmon Pickin’ Time Part One, we talked about how to harvest persimmons and how to separate the pulp from the bitter seeds and skin and how to freeze the pulp of this delectable wild fruit.  Today, we’ll take on that sticky-sweet pulp in the kitchen and I’ll even throw in a couple of my favorite persimmon recipes to get you started

Persimmon Pickin’ Time – Part I

By Jill Henderson - Show Me Oz -

Fall is probably one of the most beloved times of year here in the Ozarks. The scorching heat of summer and irresistibly itchy bug bites are long forgotten and the days are sparkling and fresh. Oftentimes, the unexpected warmth of the fall sun weaves itself in between the bristly cool mornings and frosty nights and we are teased out into the deeper reaches of the landscape for a little adventure.