Amongst the White Trilium & Celandine Poppies with Deb

from Casual Country, April 2023

Wiley's Cove..Crooked Gate Farm & Cafe

April is the month Mother Nature offers the most exciting and enjoyable scavenger hunts in the woods, so put on your hiking boots, grab a walking stick, water and do not forget the tick repellent (speaking from personal experience, tick fever is a very unpleasant illness). A good identification book is also good to have on hand.

The beautiful spring ephemerals can be found all through the Ozarks, some being unique to Stone County.

There are numerous hiking trails through out the area, even in the city limits of Mountain View. The City Park has a trail that goes all the way to the Ozark Folk Center State Park. I found my first Black Trumpet mushroom on that hike! One can even find beauties without getting out of the vehicle or hiking on a trail. The boardwalk to Blanchard Springs has many wildflowers to observe as well as the trail that starts from the parking lot along the springs.

The Hanging Gardens of Barkshed

Talking about eye candy, one of my favorite trails is near the Sylamore Creek at Barkshed Campgrounds in the National Forest. Dear friends introduced me to this trail they nicknamed “The Hanging Gardens of Barkshed”. There is a huge bluff where Shooting Stars, Columbine, wild hydrangea, maidenhair fern and alumroot literally grow out of the crevices of this rocky wall. It is such a beautiful sight, especially when water trinkles over the ledge.

Please refrain from removing plants from the wild. It is also against the law to remove anything from a National Forest. Chances are the plant will not grow in another area once removed from it’s particular spot, so leave the beauties alone for future generations. I have already witnessed the effects of over digging certain plants in areas I go to every year.

So head out on the trails and see what Mother Nature offers in the month of April.