Ozark Country Homestead

01/10/2023

01/10/2023

This is your sign to close your laptop and go outside. (Your body will thank you! 💙🌲)

Watch a new episode of with Baratunde Thurston tonight at 8/7c!

29/09/2023

Ozark ancestors

The Haggis gives Scots super human powers... Haggis is rich in vitamins and minerals and makes Scottish soldiers feared worldwide - The largest domesticated Scottish haggis herd to ever exist was raised in the town of Selkirk, nestled in the Scottish Borders their faces were much cherished for use as Sporrans on Burns Night.

For more on the Haggis please visit Mythical Scotland https://folklorescotland.com/

Image (c) Haggis Wildlife Foundation

20/09/2023

14/09/2023

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14/09/2023

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12/09/2023

Yesterday was , which gives us an opportunity to talk about our favorite pawpaw! Sorry about the cheesy joke, it was low-hanging fruit!😆

This tree is found all throughout Ohio and is often found at the bottom of ravines, steep hillsides, and creek banks. Pawpaw is the only local member of the mainly tropical plant family Annonaceae. It can be identified by its large tropical-like foliage that hangs like dog ears, and in the spring, can be identified by its maroon flowers. The fruit is the largest edible native fruit in North America and is typically 2-6 inches long and 2-4 inches in diameter.

The fruit initially is light green in color and will turn yellow-brown when ripe. The fruit is said to have a similar taste to tropical fruits like banana or papaya. These trees have immense wildlife value. They are the host plant for the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly, are pollinated by flies and beetles, and feed songbirds, turkeys, squirrels, raccoons, possums, black bears, foxes, and people alike!

Additionally, pawpaws have a lot of historical value. According to Andrew Moore, author of “Pawpaw, In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit,” “Pawpaw seeds and other remnants have been found at archaeological sites of the earliest Native Americans, and in large, concentrated amounts, which suggests seasonal feasts of the fruit.” Early settlers and explorers like Lewis and Clark also relied on pawpaws for food.

We hope you learned a little more about this amazing native tree today. Happy pawpaw season!

12/09/2023

- Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii) family
- by Maggie Lineberry Photography.

31/08/2023

When the long, swampy hike, deep into the woods pays off. This American Sycamore (P. occidentalis) definitely lived up to the hype! 306” CBH (last measured 2018), and well over 100ft. tall. We affectionately called this one the “Clam Shell Sycamore.”

20/08/2023

Family Strength, May 1940: This evocative photo by John Vachon captures an Ozark mountain farmer and family in Missouri. A timeless snapshot that reveals the resilience and unity of rural life.

18/08/2023

Mountain Man

If you traveled the foothills of the Blue Ridge in the 1930s, you may have met him; he was corn-fed, creek-baptized, lean as a fence rail, wore bib-overalls, a black hat, a big black beard and was “mean as a snake when messed with.”

He lived close to the land, knew when fish would bite best, what kind and where. He was a man of faith and never doubted that spring would come again to the land, the rains would come at the right time to save the crops and in the end, all would be well with the world.

His handshake was his bond and he brewed the best moonshine on God’s Green Earth. ”Them revenoors” were the enemy and he liked nothing better than matching wits with “them cussed devils.” Should they drop by his still place, he was long-gone and already cooking in another holler.

He was King of his Castle, (such as it was) kept his kids on the straight and narrow with a hickory switch, chopped firewood with a double-bladed axe, hunted, fished and dug a living from the same fields his ancestors dug out of the woods at the beginning of time.

His “huntin’ dawgs” were his pride and joy and many were the nights, he listened to Ol’ Blue chase a fox in the mountain side; the best music known to mankind. Ol’ Betsy was his shot-gun and his best friend; he hunted with it and when Mama went on the warpath, he slept with it.

If ever there was any doubts about him being a tough old bird, they were proven wrong on the last day of the year. He and his pals took on a bait of moonshine, climbed out of their clothes and went “skinny-dipping” in the ice-cold creek at the stroke of midnight to greet the New Year.

Should you wonder who this legend might be, he was what Flatlanders called a “Mountain Man.” He was someone’s Pa, Grandpa or maybe even someone’s Great Grandpa and could have been yours or mine. He was a rough tough character from the hills who was afraid of nothing but his wife. Even so, he had a heart of gold and would give you the shirt off his back if you were “in need.”

He spent his entire life within sight of the place he was born and no desire to see the outside world, because he already lived in Paradise, as far as he was concerned. Let us hope and pray that maybe, just maybe some of his traits rubbed off on us and let’s never forget those who came before us; to whom we owe so much.

-Wayne Easter

14/08/2023

HILLBILLY: The word originated Scots-Irish / Ulster Scots in Northern Ireland / Ulster who moved into the Appalachian Mountains in the 1700s. Billy/Billies was a term meaning "brother, friend or comrade.

"Billy Boys" was the term used refering to Ulster Protestants who supported "William of Orange" (aka Billy) in invading England.

They were also known to wear red sashes around their necks (coining the term Rednecks) and once the Scots-Irish migrated in droves to the US, they quickly moved into the mountains and hills of Appalachia.

The "Billys", now were now comrades of the hills/mountains, and therefore became known as Hillbillies.

12/08/2023

Via Creative Child Magazine

11/08/2023

Welcome to the Dark Ozarks, where we explore the dark history, mysteries and legends of the Ozarks.

11/08/2023

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11/08/2023

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