Well once again I fell well short of my stated goals for the month. My focus on training for the Grand Canyon and the fact that the fish have been biting both cut into my birding time. And boy did I miss some good birds this month. My schedule does not allow me to chase…
Ever since we moved into our house in 2004, I have kept track of the different species of birds seen from my yard. Actually, I stretched just a bit and basically said that if I can see my yard and see the bird then it counts in my yard bird list. We live in a…
Those of you who know me well understand that my idea of fun usually doesn’t involve hanging out in a large urban setting in a major city. The narrow one-way streets, the noise, the traffic, and the over-abundance of people elevate my level of stress and discomfort. So when I was given the assignment to…
That is all I needed. It was just after noon and the gobbler was 30 yards away from me. He hid behind his large clump of rugosa rose, I hid behind my clump of rugosa rose, and a hen decoy twirled in the wind in the opening between us. My heart was beating out of…
The 9 mile loop at the Wilderness Trail at Meramec State Park was completely bi-polar today. I arrived at the trailhead around 10:00 to find no other cars there at all, totally shocking for April 15th at this popular park. Of course it was 35 degrees with a gusty wind, and it had rained each…
When we got to Elephant Rocks I was very tired but ready for the trail at the same time. I typically don’t like hiking, but thought it would be fun. We started with a little low rocks, compared to what was coming later. After that we went to the 120 year old ruins of an…
I found myself worn out after a more difficult day than usual at work and having just finished a late appointment in St. Charles. I didn’t feel like sitting in rush hour traffic, and even though I was physically spent and only had my work boots and work clothes with me, I decided to take…
It was a cold day in March at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge near Omaha, NE when Jim and I arrived at the lake. Even with the windows on Jim’s car closed because it was cold outside we could hear the sound that only a large gathering of geese can produce. As we stepped out of…
Feeling restless and anxious to log some more miles in preparation for my next Grand Canyon hike, I sought out a new, rugged trail at Don Robinson State Park. My plan was to go hike the 4 mile Sandstone Canyon Trail, then the 2.5 mile LaBarque Hills Trail and make it home in time to…
