For some reason, I am obsessed with game cameras. Every time I retrieve a card and upload the photos, I am as giddy as a kid at Christmas. I only monitor a few cameras, and the quality is average at best. In an effort to slow the spread of Chronic Waste Disease in Missouri among…
People frequently ask me how did I find “that place” or decide to walk a certain trail. There are many different ways, of course, between social media, word of mouth, my own experience, internet searches, etc. However, for today’s post, I want to discuss a great book that I frequently use for trails close to…
I have decided to try to keep track of all of the species of birds that I see for the year, something I used to do before I had kids and all of the joy and busyness that comes with them. My hope is that making an effort to build the largest list possible I…
Southern winds and full sun brought Spring-like temperatures to Missouri today, so I had to make time to squeeze in at least a short hike on my busy Sunday. I had bigger ambitions for one of the longer hikes on my list, but time wouldn’t allow for it. So I picked the next best thing,…
My 2017-18 deer hunt has not been successful, at least not if you measure success by the amount of meat in the freezer. I brought the boys out during the youth hunt, hunted the second weekend of gun season, then bow hunted a few times along the way with nothing to show for it. So…
As regular readers know, I am a Certified Arborist working for a private tree company in St. Louis. I spend my days estimating tree work and evaluating tree health for homeowners, property managers, municipalities, and neighborhood associations. At least once a week, and usually more often than that, the topic of my conversation is the…
Bennett Springs is a Missouri State Park located near Lebanon Missouri. The highlight of this state park is a 1.2 mile spring branch of the Niangua River that is stocked with Rainbow Trout daily from March 1st to October 31st. It is also stocked with brown trout in the spring and the fall. During this…
St. Louis was blessed with another balmy 60 degree day with a cold front quickly on its way bringing with it freezing rain over night, so I figured I better race off and get one more short Trail completed on my list of 60 hikes. So after work I decided on Mustang Trail at Greensfelder…
After several weeks of cold temperatures, a gusty south wind ushered in some welcome warmth today even if we never did see the sun. I couldn’t waste the opportunity to get outside in 55 degree temperatures and knock a short trail off my list of 60 hikes, so I made it to Babler State Park…
190 pounds! Ugh. I stood on the scale this morning, begrudgingly, after a month of birthday, Christmas, and New Years celebrations to discover that I had gained 10 pounds in just the month of December. The busy month coupled with a persistent chest cold had defeated me. Fortunately, I went into work to find a…
