Outdoors

When I think of all the fascinating things I have seen in this natural world I have been exploring well over 40 years, one of the most fascinating is a little snake that my grandmother told me was a puff adder. It is also known as a hog-nosed viper, a spreading adder and other names.

I want to make people aware of what they will never hear anywhere else. I wrote about killing blacksnakes and black vultures and brown-headed cowbirds and I ran into a self-appointed wanna-be naturalist who have me heck because I mentioned killing those four species. Those kind of people arouse my ire. The very best of

Caplinger Report Caplinger Woods Stephanie Finch They are running water every night. Some people are netting shad of a morning. Crappie are biting mornings. They are catching catfish and stripers. Mornings are best but they are catching an occasional fish all day. Lake Stockton Mary Fidler Stockton State Park Marina They are catching walleye 20-25

Team members from Missouri State Parks invite the public to visit mostateparks.com and view informational videos for Abbie and Abel Van Meter State Park, Thousand Hills State Park and  Deutschheim State Historic Site. After watching the videos, the public is encouraged to provide input and comments, and submit questions about the historic site or parks

I said in last week’s column that I would write about the fourth venomous snake in the Ozarks and I will. That snake is the hog-nosed snake, or spreading adder, as it is also known. Yes, it has fangs and venom, but cannot bite humans. Read about it next week! The following column is an

Summer brings sunshine and heat, and one of the best ways to cool off is by taking a dip in a river or lake in a Missouri state park. From hanging out in a quiet cove to exploring one of Missouri’s pristine rivers, Missouri state parks offer swimming experiences the whole family can enjoy. Beaches

Are you interested in camping, but unsure how to get started? Join Missouri State Parks team members for an overnight, guided camping experience at Knob Noster State Park June 23-24. Participants will learn introductory camping skills while spending a night under the stars in the park’s Shawnee Group Camp. The program is for everyone and

Caplinger report Caplinger Woods Stephanie Finch They are not going to run water today or over the weekend. Fishermen and women on the bridge have been catching catfish, one nice walleye, stripers. Netting shad at the dam. Lake Stockton report Stockton State Park Marina Mary Fidler I’ve been asking everybody that cane in. Nobody has

Have some quality fun at Bennett Spring State Park this Father’s Day, Sunday, June 18. Visitors can enjoy fishing or picnicking anytime during daylight hours. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., guests can work on one of the many 5-foot floor puzzles inside the nature center or create chalk art on the walkway outside the

A local game warden got himself a radio show on a Lebanon, Missouri radio station several years ago and he ended it each week with this statement, “Remember, if we (the MDC) don’t say you can, YOU CAN’T!” I have been doing some things they don’t say I can do. In mid-May I killed a