From the Arkansas Ozarks.. The cross quarter of Imbolc nears. The days lengthen and begin to warm, though we’ve seen little cold or snow as winter fades. Premonitions of a hot, dry summer haunt these temperate days. After last years record heat, hopes are that this year will not be a repeat.. or worse. But we all know the data and the trends.. floods followed by droughts, getting worse instead of better. Unless.. says the Lorax.

Anyone who has ever seen Oyster Mushrooms will probably recall their unique habit of growing in a cascade along a tree trunk, in a upward or downward direction, depending one one's point of view. One mass of them I observed for several consecutive years grew on a dead or dying sycamore tree.

This is one mushroom, according to experts, that is almost impossible to confuse with any poison variety, however, I still do not recommend anyone gathering or collecting them based on an online mention. Always be certain of what you collect before ingesting it/them.

The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is one of the most common vegetables grown by the home gardener. There is quite a wide variety in beans, and this particular article is about "green beans", which is a rather general term itself. Almost any variety of common bean can be harvested while still small, tender, and green, or can be allowed to dry on the vine for later harvest as dry pods, containing dried bean seeds. If one wants seeds for the following year, then green beans are allowed to mature into dry pods full of dry beans.

Squash is one vegetable most people like, and which few people hate, presumably because it has no overly strong taste, and is easy to incorporate into just about any soup, rice dish, or stir fry.

Summer squash comes in many varieties: zucchini, crookneck, patty-pan, and more, plus many sub-varieties too numerous to mention here.

There is one vegetable that most people either love or hate. Or, maybe they've never eaten it. It is okra. Eaten more in the southern states, as well as in warmer climates of other countries, okra has one characteristic that seems to annoy many people, and that is the "slime factor". That seems to be the reason given most often as to why people don't like okra.

The Environmental Assessment for USFS Bearcat Hollow Project Phase 2 has
been published. The public has 30 days to submit comments. Comment
period closes on Jan 10, 2012.

Along with the usual logging of thousands of acres, repeated burning of
thousands of acres, and spraying of herbicides over thousands of acres,
the project proposal includes introducing Western Rocky Mountain Elk
onto 38,000 acres in the Piney District of the greater Ozark National
Forest. The project adjoins Richland Creek and the Richland Creek
Wilderness area.

Federal agency finds Ozark hellbender endangered

By The Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A federal agency has declared the Ozark hellbender an endangered species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule on Wednesday that places the aquatic salamander in the endangered category.
The amphibian lives in streams in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri and can reach two feet in length.

The agency says the main threat to the Ozark hellbender is damage to its habitat from mining, animal operations and fertilizer runoff.