The Rock Wall

Finally read the front page bear article. Kimball heard that a judge ruled in favor of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). She called Rep. Diehl’s office and his secretary sent a letter asking for a copy of the judge’s decision so we can learn the judge’s reasoning.

Kimball told me Wednesday night she had called Outdoor Writer Larry Dablemont to see if he had heard of the case. He had. He said he had heard that the MDC sold the bear at auction for $2,000.

When I first read the bear article, I was incensed that the MDC had confiscated the 12 year old boy’s bear. In his 17 page well researched decision the circuit judge often quoted what the boy’s father had told MDC investigators after he had been Mirandized and without his attorney present.

He is an honest man and told them everything that he had done to bait the bear. He tried to remove all the bait 10 days before season but he couldn’t remove the soil where he had poured the cooking oil. An expert testified he had seen a bear eat soil baited with cooking oil.

The judge ruled in favor of the MDC on all counts.

Several years ago, I saw a bear and her cub in my yard just as it was starting to barely get light. I went to get my binoculars from another room in our house.. When I returned to the window, they were gone.

Carl Taylor was our neighbor when he told me he watched a bear run south from the former location of the Ararat school house about a quarter mile to the timber also on the Larry Smith property.

Another time, Nathan, Carl’s oldest son, reported seeing a bear in the field close to the road on the north side of the Cedar-St. Clair County line road about two miles west of my house.

Another time, on opening day of deer season, I had parked my pickup in our driveway a little east of the house intending to take rest off the hood if I saw a big buck. Just before quitting time, a big animal started growling at me from the ditch that runs at the south side of our yard about 150 ft. from where I was standing. I went and got my pump shotgun loaded with several rounds of buckshot in case it charged. Never saw what it was.

If it had charged, I wouldn’t have taken time to get a permit.

Last week Kimball told you that I watch horse racing all day. Wrong.

No. 1 -They don’t start until 11 a.m.

No.2 -I won’t watch harness racing which takes over later in the day.

No. 3 -I don’t watch it on Sunday.

Saturday I watched one horse race then quit to write this.

I learned something I find interesting. In the US, the horses run on a counter clockwise track. In Australia, the race track runs clockwise.

Fairly often, a horse refuses to load into its stall in the starting gate. I’ve never seen a horse kick when two members of the ground crew lock arms around the horse’s rump and force it into the stall.

I’ve never seen a horse hesitate when the starting gates all open.

When I first started watching, horses were running to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. The 20 horse list was more than filled weeks ago. Now all of the Derby horses are in training so you don’t see them racing since it is less than a month before the first Saturday in May, Derby day.

I plan to watch the race.. Three horses at the top of the list are Burnam Square, Sandman and Journalism. I didn’t see any of then qualify for the Kentucky Derby.

Thursday morning I listened for gobblers about an hour just as it was breaking day. I finally heard some crows then silence. No owls. No gobblers. I gave up. I told Kimball the turkeys predicted rain. The weather man didn’t. The turkeys were right.

I listened again Friday. Same result. KL