En route to discover heroes in Freedom’s Frontier. Dog days of summer envelop us. Luckily this morning turns cloudy and rainy. We quickly get lost, which I enjoy immensely. Cathy not so much. Just north of the little town of Fair Play I misread the map trying to find 425th Street. Instead we take gravel roads […]
Three Prairies in a Day, 24 August 2024 Read More »
Highlighting special places for anyone thinking of visiting Costa Rica. We’re just north of the capital of San Jose near the Poas Volcan National Park and the nation’s central valley. This is Cathy and my second time to this Central American nation, which roughly equals Missouri in population, 5 million, but is one third smaller
From the Strawberry Capital of Costa Rica: Notes from five weeks travel. Read More »
Photo taken in James Turrell walk-in sculpture at Mass. Museum of Contemporary Art.
Instead of Sleep: Prayers around the Body Read More »
This mysterious sculpture exists along the Meramec River just upstream from confluence with the Mississippi, in Winter Park. A gravel and sand mining firm gave the land to create this awesome open space near Saint Louis many years ago.
Remembering Summer Read More »
Powered by sunlight and using rain for water, our cabin in Shannon County makes a fine solar home. Ozark renewable energy inspired the sustainable design.
Rise Up Ozarks! Rise Up Midwest! Read More »
The Saturday morning market along the Dordogne River in western France inspires me. It’s Pentecost weekend, lots of festivals nearby. In this ancient town enthusiastic crowds around the square in front of city hall meander, buy, eat, visit, hug, and kiss their friends. Booths spread into the narrow streets. Cathy and I have little trouble
Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Mon Amour Read More »
No, not my sisters, nieces and nephews, cousins or godchildren. It’s actually a real live squirrel! On our sixth-floor balcony! She must have taken up residence over the winter. I had no idea. Sometimes this squirrel would take naps on top of the trellis by the planter. No clue why. Now I know why. Cleaning
My Squirrelly Family Read More »
In early March I took an exhilarating yet exhausting drive across the Ozarks. Though Springfield and Salem lie nearly on the same latitude in Missouri, they’re about 75+ miles apart. The preferred routes on divided highways chosen by Google clocked in at about two and a half hours. The southern route followed US 60 to
At the Dent County Historical Society Read More »
What I remember from a local train show yesterday was the fleam. I hadn’t seen once since running the Ozark Agriculture Museum. It’s a simple device. They were used to induce bleeding in belief bad blood could be eliminated and health restored. The procedure almost cost the life of our first President. Luckily medicine has
Gun Show-Train Show Smack Down Read More »
I got to know Joan at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky. To me and a lot of others, especially on the East coast, she’s one of the best playwrights around. More theaters need to produce her plays. Everyone, look for her work! I was never a theater goer until my
At Joan Ackermann’s in the Berkshires Read More »
Has our poet of overgrown fields flown the coop to become some exotic creature? Maybe a crow? Lots of critters inhabit Robert Bly. Can his work have wings into the future? He died a few days ago, Nov. 21, 2021, at 94. I helped organize a reading for him way back in 1964. His first
Birdwatching from Madison, MN, to Subiaco, AR Read More »
Best burger on the road: Kewpee Drive-inn, Lima, Ohio. A giant angelic baby stands atop the roof of the historic eatery. More dolls on the inside and a sign proclaiming, “Your grandparents probably ate here,” which may be true, as they were all frisky in the 1930s. This was near the end of our trip,
Selected Scenes from a Delta-Variant Summer Road Trip Read More »
A freak blizzard early this week has meant snowmen coexisting with redbud trees in full bloom. The cold front probably nipped Ozark fruit and spring soirees. This photo is a neighbors house, with red buds to the rear. An inch of snow set back Cathy and my travel plans. Fun to be pissed off at
Earth Day at the Homeless Shelter Read More »
One of these mysterious bird sings downhill at 5 a.m. The world’s going to be new once again. Warm enough to leave windows cracked, love ballads from doves, owl warnings, frogs’ splashing, nuthatches prowling and eventually my neighbor Timothy whistling an aria as he walks down the gravel road eventually spur Cath and I to
Whippoorwill Morning Read More »
Has anyone else wept for the blooming jonquils or the ten people shot in Colorado a few days ago? They take my breath away as I drive into Arkansas: random patches of blooms out in pastures where once a family homesteaded. Or the eight killed in Georgia last week? Someone planted these lovely yellow flowers
Surprised by This Spring Read More »
We’ve reached a great turning point, the Opening of Trout Season, March 1st. A week ago it iced all the way to Texas. Snow plows and cinder trucks growled. A pipe froze in our Springfield apartment. Saturday, the 6th, offered the opposite. Beginning with a 6 a.m. alarm, I wanted to get to Roaring River
Reflections at Roaring River Read More »
This has been a winter to remember. The text message came about 3 p.m. A man who signed up to work at a nearby church taking in homeless can’t make it. “Can you come in?” A week ago I signed up as a back-up in case a volunteer had a problem. This was a big
The Coldest Night at the Overflow Shelter Read More »
All winter into spring we’ve wondered if we could trek to the desert. A few weeks before going one couple dropped out of our crew fearing travel from Oregon during pandemic. Six of us did make a mid-June 1,000+ mile Ozark-Utah trip to experience this stream named for a Native American tuber. Was running the
Rafting the Rockies during a Pandemic. Read More »
How to escape a pandemic, urban stress or summer’s heat? A river offers a safe, forever cool retreat. Ozark streams present recreation constantly renewed by huge springs, some of the largest in the world. Spring water keeps everyone healthy. A big part of this endless cascade depends on surrounding forests. A friend living deep in
Alford Forest: New Lease on Life Read More »
