Witch Hazel Advent tells the story of John Rule, a poet and peace activist living off the grid in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. John and his wife Margaret found their home on the upper headwaters of Frog Bayou creek in 1963. After years of teaching English in various small Southern colleges while trying to homestead on their remote piece of land during their vacations, they were able to put away their nomadic existence and enjoy their first real home together. Although Margaret was 16 years John’s senior, they were able to continue an active life under rugged conditions for many years until Margaret began to succumb to the dementia of Alzheimer’s disease. After nearly a decade of care-taking his aging wife in such primitive living conditions, John was forced to put Margaret into a nursing home, where she passed away in 2009. In the years since, John has focused on his writing and has become active in a local organization which promotes peace, justice and ecology. John’s poetry is used throughout the film to provide depth and insight into his unique life and the natural world around him. The film was made by his granddaughter, Sarah Moore Chyrchel, for her Master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Arkansas.