February

My son Jared took this photo on his way home from delivering the mail in Houston, Missouri.  I want to be a photographer when I grow up.

My First Horse!

Four hands high, rides like the wind, and every inch a stallion! The horse of course!

Bring It On!

Dashing through the snow...

Please Mr. Groundhog!

Enough already!  Where in tarnation is that rascally groundhog anyway?  

Bad Bear! Go Home!

During our evening’s reconnaissance, we most always left the camp set up and unattended, and rarely during our absence was anything disturbed.  There were however, two notable exceptions.  One minor incident occurred when we returned to camp to find a regiment of marauding raccoons pilfering and practicing maneuvers in my picnic basket.  Another considerably more unnerving episode took place back in Bryce Canyon, when we returned from a hike to find a black bear sprawled contentedly in the back seat of my jitney!  Having discarded everything inedible from the back seat, the young scoundrel was reclining placidly in the middle of my black, leather, tuck & roll upholstery, with his prehensile tongue investigating the bottom of a half empty jar of tomato preserves. Fortunately for all concerned, the little whippersnapper had already dined adequately so as to satisfy his voracious appetite, so Lidge’s sound scolding was sufficient to send him packing. It may have been Lidge’s scolding, or it may have been me, frantically waving a stick at him from atop the hood of Lidge’s roadster! Obie's Quest

Mighty Invigorating!

The weather can get mighty invigorating during the long Ozark winters!  It’s good to bulk up a little!  The little bug-bears and I get pot bellies and let our whiskers grow!

From Reservoir Hill

Elie walked out to Reservoir Hill, with me first thing this morning.  Half way there we walked up on a squirrel.  Seconds later he was out of sight and you could only here him wiz!  Elie lit out like she was near starvation and that squirrel was smoked and drippin’ ‘possum gravy!  About the time she reached cruisin’ speed; she lost her feet in a big ol’ pile of leaves, did two mighty inspirin’ barrel-rolls, a couple of first-class loop-the-loops, and hit the ground, runnin’ in the wrong direction! After a second she saw her mistake, slid to a stop and collapsed in humiliation!  ‘Course, by then, that squirrel was up a hickory tree, grinning like a pig in a pie safe!  Pa