Outdoors

When I am hunting and fishing now I am almost always alone and I have conversations with myself. Some say that when someone does that, it is an indication that they are crazier than a pet coon, but I ain’t. Crazy people ask themselves questions. I don’t do that. I did sometimes when I was

On the first day of January I went looking for ducks on some of the many ponds and ranch lakes in my region of the Ozarks. As one old-timer in the pool hall once said about honest politicians on the ballot… “They wa’nt none!” I have never seen a time in 32 years of living

The last few days of deer season are tough. Those final days for me occur at the close of the ‘muzzle-loader season” when whitetail deer are almost finished with the ‘rut’ and bucks are returning to normalcy, not acting so much like the sex-crazed idiots they are in October and November. In January, deer gather

Doc Dykes was a frequent visitor to the pool hall in 1963. He was quiet and good humored, plagued with petit-mal seizures on occasion. Doc Dykes was a chiropractor, and likely as educated a man as our pool hall ever seen. Well dressed, he always wore a long grey overcoat, and usually a dress shirt

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks is pleased to announce that the 2024 grant rounds for the Recreational Trails Program is now open. RTP grants are available to cities, counties and nonprofit organizations to be used to create motorized and non-motorized trails for recreational use. Federal agencies can apply for funding

Celebrate the new year with fun, fresh air and scenic views by participating in a First Day Hike in one of America’s state parks. These guided hikes are organized annually from Hawaii to Maine to encourage individuals and families to start the year on the right foot – by getting outside and connecting with nature.

All through the history of the earth, (and I am talking about tens of thousands of years back) there has been ‘climate change’ on earth. If you want to call it that… I don’t. There was a time when the temperature of the Ozarks never got above 32 degrees. That was when there was a

Join the team at Mastodon State Historic Site for activities throughout the month. Events range from Toddler Thursdays to story time to programs on archaeology. Mastodon State Historic Site is located at 1050 Charles Becker Drive in Imperial. Toddler Thursday, Thursday, Jan. 18 at 10 a.m. Toddlers and their grown-ups are invited to come learn,

eBird is a massive online database where birders from around the world upload their bird observations. Regional bird experts review the submitted checklists to make sure the reported sightings are correct. Since its launch in 2002, eBird participation has grown so much that the information it collects can now be used by scientists and land

I continue to talk to Enforcement Chief Randy Doman of the Missouri Department of Conservation and try to pass on what he wants hunters and fishermen to know. I stress to many who doubt what I report, that Doman is the supervisor of all conservation agents in the state and is the last word in