A Walk in the Moonlight.

Now you might be thinking the title is about a romantic walk during the full moon on a picturesque night with Italian music coming from an unknown source as if you might be watching a chick-flick. Well, it's not, but I dare you to read on.

  It was cool, about 65 degrees last night as I stood on the front porch of the 100 year old farm house that we call home and looked up at the sky as the stars begun to wake from their daytime slumber, blinking sleep from their eyes, and the Ozark moon was full and bright as newly sheared wool (or as pearly white as a celebrity that just come out of a high-dollar dentist) and there was a cool late Summer breeze rippling across the valley below that peaked atop the hill where I live.

  The night was too good to pass up so I decided to take a stroll down the dirt road, and I had no need of a flashlight or lantern because the moon's glow enveloped the land in a soft-white light. The wildlife seemed to be out enjoying the wonderful evening just as I was; there were the sound of night crickets chirping, a whippoorwill calling out for a mate and the lonesome barn owl with it's near-silent wings glided overhead into a nestle of trees.

  I walked for about a mile just enjoying the night air, the walk and the beauty of the Missouri Ozarks, I stopped at one point and just stood looking at the night sky and all the millions of bright, twinkling, shining stars that abound up in that soupy blue-blackness and it seemed that time paused, and I thought, city lights in Dallas or Chicago, even St. Louis don't come close to the grandeur of what I was looking just then.

  Soon after, I started back toward home, and I couldn't help but smile as the breeze gusted just enough to whip my hair around my shoulders as if to say good-night, and sweet dreams.

Redesign and new Blogging

Currently redesigning the blog and starting anew with topics and updates regarding Missouri, land, local events and more stuff about living here; including pictures-you know you want eye candy! Some topics will include gardening tips, links to gardening resources, land, hunting/fishing resources and more, so don't miss out.  Our updates will be coming once a week, that way you get more information and entertainment quicker (who wants to wait around for stuff anyway? That's why there's instant everything, well just about everything.)

Upcoming Events for July in SE Missouri

Here in the next few weeks there will be a fireworks and festivities going on called Skyfire 2011, vendors, businesses, etc will all be out there so if you want to get a booth now is the chance.  Happens on July 2nd, so if you're interested in selling wares or promoting your business get on the ball.  West Plains/Pomona area is where it will be, and you can call the West Plains City Hall for more information.

Had a good windstorm and a little rain two days ago, no damage just a sprinkle of rain and a lot of wind, so it was a bit noisy, but just a passing storm really.  Today is a beautiful day however, and if you're working outside in the heat, the all day constant breeze is a welcomed delight!

As per the berries, the black raspberries are in full splendor, about a handful a day has been ripening, but I've only been able to find a small patch, the rest are blackberries ripening every day as well. Made a delicious blackberry and blueberry pie last night, it's half gone already! No vanilla ice cream to go with it though, would make the dish let me tell ya.

Wild Berries ripe for the picking!

Looks like rain in the forecast, but we'll see if there's gonna be any of it falling soon enough, weather man says 40% chance of it here, but sometimes it just passes us by. Though with black raspberries, red raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and juneberries popping up soon, we want the rain to make them nice, juicy and plump for the picking!

While driving on a backroad I came across a nice little patch of ripening black raspberries, there were a few ripe ones and I wasn't about to let the birds and animals get them before I did! With some rain coming they'll be nice and plump as long as the rain falls. The few berries that I grabbed up were about dime size, maybe a little smaller and though delicious, I would have liked them a bit bigger.

For those around here in Missouri, mainly south east and in the Ozarks area, most of us go Blackberry picking towards the end of June and mid-July when the berries are out in full measure, but though I've lived here all my life, I didn't know that we had black and red raspberries and juneberries and mulberries around until I bought a wild berries and fruits guide for Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. In the fall there's Paw Paw trees with fruit, ground Plums and so much more that grows wild, including wild Strawberries, which are so much sweeter than those from the store!

I plan on going hiking this next weekend to scout out some tasty areas that have the blooms and hopefully ripening fruits on them to come back to when the berry bushes are in full splendor with a large bucket and a hungry stomach!

Spring into Summer!

So far this year it's been hot and rainy. Though with all this rain the delicious blackberries, raspberries and wild blueberries and strawberries that grow here in southeast Missouri will  be plump and juicy sweet come picking time!  The gardens and farms will be happy for the rain as well, seeing how in August we'll all want it to rain sooner or later, as August is the dog days of Summer, we're all down at the rivers jumping from ropes tied to trees or if it's deep enough, bluffs.

Campgrounds get scarce this time of year, everyone is looking for the perfect camping spot when all the "free" campsites are taken and overcrowded down in the campgrounds. We have some great campsites available, near the rivers and they're private, so if you don't want to miss out on some perfect campsites check out what we have on our website and get in touch with Ed about securing your spot for the Summer or even the whole year, they're available for lease! (We have some Cabins as well!)

Hunting Season is Finally Here!

This was the start of hunting season here in MO, and let me tell you, everyone around here has been chomping at the bit to get out there and snag a few white tailed bucks this year, currently it's only bow season, but rifle and muzzle loader is just around the corner.  So for those of you who love to hunt or know those who do and are looking to get out and have some fun, you can check out some hunting leases that are still available (though they won't last if you sit around twiddling your thumbs!) here . 

Though when coming in from out of state to hunt here in MO, make sure that you follow the safety guidelines of hunting:

1. Wear hunter's orange
2. Keep your gun on safety (or arrow in quiver)
3. Let someone know where you are hunting at in case of an emergency
4. Follow local no trespassing signs and purple tags or spray painted areas (trees, fences, etc).
5. Tag and record your kills for our conservation department
6. Have fun and be safe!

Living in MO- Aah, the good life!

You know what is best about living in Missouri?

 The people and beautiful country! Not only is it cheap to live here compared to many places around the nation (California for example), the people here are friendly and give you that old fashioned neighborly feel (need to borrow a cup of sugar? No problem, here take a pie!), not the kind that shows up at your door with a gun-in-your-face greeting each day. The countryside is beautiful with rolling hills, tall pines, oak and walnut trees all around, the air is clean and the wildlife is plentiful for hunting, fishing or just relaxing to listen to (even the occasional pack of coyotes yipping during their nightly frolics!)

Interesting News: Introducing Elk back into Missouri?
Apparently the MO Conservation department has been discussing with locals about reintroducing Elk into Missouri for hunting purposes, is this a good idea? Many are on the fence about it, however, with cattle ranches and farmers having a tough time the overall resounding sound so far is a loud "no", after all a few thousand pound elk smashing through fences, gorging on crops that are already expensive to produce and perhaps plowing into oncoming traffic on the roads are a bit of a turnoff in comparison to the amount of hunters vying for the opportunity for elk meat and not to mention the trophy rack that comes with a good kill. What do you think? Should Elk be reintroduced into Missouri?