Canoe The Ozarks

After great anticipation, then much supplication, we dodged a forecast of rain and storms. A window of time, a window of the fairest  weather, opened up in the heavens…And Down to the river, we did go the first day of June, just past noon, we launched our canoe to once again renew, our vows to […]

  Awake, thou wintry earth – Fling off thy sadness! Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth Your ancient gladness! ~Thomas Blackburn, “An Easter Hymn”   Put yourself on the river in Spring, and Ludwig will do the rest(Beethoven’s 6th, The Pastoral Symphony)   if you enjoyed the movie, you might also visit:  ourplaceinthecosmos.com for another spring […]

While Missouri only had its 11th wettest June on record at 7.23 inches, record precipitation and flooding occurred in many areas across the state. The St. Louis, Missouri area had its wettest June on record at 13.14 inches. So you can understand how happy I was to get  out of soggy St. Lou and hit […]

Join us on the river as we venture deep into the beauty and wonders of Spring- In the Ozarks… Peace on the River

Moving through a lively riffle… It’s about 5pm when we pull into a favorite campsite that we’ll call home for the next few days.  Little did we know that our first night here would be one of the most memorable nights on the river. With only the slightest chance of rain in the forecast, we […]

Under a large flat rock in an Ozark stream Dwells an ancient aquatic sentinel With a Gaia messenger scheme Calling all good earthly stewards Protect these precious waters Please the fish, the frog, the turtle and the toad Let the mystery of this peculiar amphibian, continue to unfold _________________________________________________________ He goes by many names:  Snot […]

It’s the night before the Summer Solstice and I’ve been lounging on the little deck.  The Lightning Bugs are out in force tonight and I’ve got a great seat for this amazing light show. Their lights are streaking and tracing against a dark curtain of trees that flourish along both sides of the little Ozark […]

Oh Mamma Maia, daughter of Atlas(Gr), Roman Goddess of fertility, your name lends well to my favorite page on the calendar(Maius/Latin)! This transitional month finds me still reveling in the resurrection of life along the river and excited by its unerring promise of summer.  This second wave of spring is composing the lushest and greenest […]

Wowsers and Yikes! Local media recently reported a sighting of a Mountain Lion in a wooded area of Chesterfield.  A photo of this curious cat was captured on a trail camera by a Chesterfield resident(Jan.12th) and was later confirmed by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation(MDOC). But there’s no reason to be alarmed here.  Mountain Lions, […]

In this neck of the woods, that would be Mr. and Ms. Black Bear of course. In all my years of canoeing in the Ozarks, I have yet to see one of these magnificent land mammals.  But they are certainly out there. According to the MDC (Missouri Dept. of Conservation), public observations of black bears […]