Limping through a busy weekend after an absolutely crazy long week, Debbie and I sat at the dinner table after an early Sunday dinner and tried to regroup. Â As I looked out the window I saw the dogwood tree twisting in the breeze, I knew my evening plans would consist of something outdoors. Â Knowing that…
It was an exciting month indeed for the game cameras.  We now have  3 cameras to monitor, and all produced at least a few decent photos this month.  It has taken me a few days to go through them all and narrow down the winners worthy for a post.  So first we will start with…
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. Â It was just after noon and the gobbler was 30 yards away from me. Â 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. Â My heart was beating out of…
The 9 mile loop at the Wilderness Trail at Meramec State Park was completely bi-polar today. Â 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. Â 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…
Valley View Glades Natural Area is one of my favorite St. Louis area hikes. Â The 225 acre natural area is home to some very large dolomite glades as well as a neat mix of oak, hickory, and cedar woodland areas with a series of wet-weather creeks running along side the trail. Â For just a short…
