Keeping Our Social Distance

Some day the grandkids may ask what we did during the self-quarantine of the coronavirus pandemic.  Here are a few of the things we have occupied ourselves with.

We engaged in a spirited gin rummy tournament.  The ultimate winner has yet to be decided.



It was a very rainy period in My Corner of the Ozarks.  Our backyard sinkhole flooded again.  The pond drained out in about 24 hours.

That prompted us to wonder about the Jack's Fork River, only five miles away.  While maintaining social distance (we hardly saw a soul), we drove to the Prongs and to Buck Hollow to see how high the water was running.

This is just downstream from Buck Hollow on March 16 (Cardinal Acres for locals).  The guage height was 4 ft.

After 3 more inches of rain this was the Jack's Fork (same location) on March 20.  The Buck Hollow guage height was 8 ft.

We thought this was a responsible hydrological activity for a couple maintaining social distance in the Ozarks.

On March 20 we had to check out Rocky Falls.  It was running very high and very loud.

Rocky Falls is on Rocky Creek, a tributary of Current River.

We also checked on Two Rivers, where the Jack's Fork water enters the Current River (coming in from the left).  That's a lot of water! 

Just before Two Rivers we got to see the wild horses.  Beautiful animals, but not native wildlife. 

Sunday March 22 was the first Lord's Day without our normal gathering for worship.  So we kept our social distance by worshiping on line. 

We started with a Fernando Ortega "warm up".  Thank you, Fernando.






Our church posted live worship on line which we enjoyed.  It was almost the same as being there. 

We dressed for church.  Brought our Bibles.  And prepared to hear from the Lord. 

(But I didn't wear 'dress shoes'.)





Pastor Jeremiah brought a message from Philippians 3:17-21.  "How do we live as citizens of heaven now?"
1.  Imitate those who passionately pursue Jesus.  2.  Do not imitate this world.  3.  Live out the values of heaven. 


Philippians 3:17-21 (ESV)
¹⁷  Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
¹⁸  For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
¹⁹  Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
²⁰  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
²¹  who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

In this time of self-quarantine, we are learning new things.  No bulletins, no offering plate, no handshakes, but God is here.

Camp David Back Again

Each summer we host our grandchildren in our "Corner of the Ozarks".  This August we had our ninth "Camp David".  For the first time we had all six grandchildren. 

As they get older they are busier and it becomes more difficult to get them all together at the same time.  We started with "half a crew". 


The week started with a visit to the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois. 

I know Springfield, Illinois, is not within "My Corner of the Ozarks", but all Americans should know about the life and legacy of Mr. Lincoln. 

We had a good time learning about Abe.


Do you recognize Abe and Mary?



Next the Maryland girls flew in to join us and we headed for the Ozarks. 

We spent two days at Branson taking in Silver Dollar City and the Butterfly Palace.  Aunt Janet and Uncle Dwight hosted us there.  We were joined by Cousins Adelyn and Marian. 

The remainder of the week was spent in Mountain View area. 

The pool was fun, but nothing beats the Jack's Fork.

They are growing up too fast. 




















It was a privilege and a blessing to have our beautiful, fun, grandchildren for a great (too fast) week. 

Traditional Ozarker Activity

It's that time of the year to pick wild blackberries.  Maybe some will be in a cobbler soon.  Some will be frozen and appear in a cobbler in the winter.

The berry patch is shared with many Ozark critters, namely ticks, chiggers, snakes, and worst of all, poison ivy.  Wise hillbillies avoid these.

I forgot to mention "thorns".  You have to reach through the briers to get the ripe berries.  If a ripe berry falls to the ground, it is always the biggest one. 

One question really bothers me:  why are the best berries always guarded by sturdy clumps of poison ivy?

Ozarkers Come Home

On June 21-22 the David family gathered back in the Ozarks. 

We've been doing this every other year for some time.  It seems that the "first" big family reunion was the Golden Anniversary of Ed and Nina David in 1961.  After their passing the next generation started hosting reunions in Mountain View.

Our tradition has been to photograph each "clan".  Only four of nine "clans" were represented this year. 

Lloyd's clan:

Wayne's clan: 

Evelyn's clan: 

Gene's clan: 

We were missing representatives of the clans of Robert, Imogene, Erma, Mildred, and Eileen. 

These are from the third generation after Ed and Nina David. 

Tournament Golf Just Beyond My Corner

For the sixth year the Legends of Golf professional golf tournament was played at Ridgedale, MO, just south of Branson.  The tournament is now known as the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge.  (Owner Johnny Morris is good at marketing.)

The Legends of Golf event began in 1978 and sparked the creation of the PGA Tour Champions.  Before coming to the Ozarks, it was played in Florida. 

The first year the tournament was held at two Ozark courses, Top of the Rock and Buffalo Ridge in 2014.  I attended one day, got soaked in a pouring rain and left early.  The last three years I have been a volunteer marshal.  It has been fun to see PGA Champions Tour golfers up close. 

This year for the first time a new course Ozark National was used for part of the tournament.  Ozark National was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.  It is a beautiful and tough layout. 

It seems like every year the rains interfere with some part of the tournament. 

It takes about 200 marshals for the five days of the tournament, two days of pro-am and three days of pro competition.  There were only 28 new marshals this year; everyone else was a returnee. 

The Legends tournament is a two-man team event.  This year's winners were Tom Pernice and Scott Hoch. 

They always play part of the Legends event at Top of the Rock, a beautiful nine-hole par 3 which was re-designed by Jack Nicklaus.  Nicklaus usually plays in the Legends division, but he was ill this year.  Notables in attendance this year include Tom Watson, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, John Daly, Mark O'Meara, and Colin Montgomerie. 

The charitable beneficiaries of the event are the College of the Ozarks and the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. 

I enjoy volunteering at the tournament, but I wish the weather was better and it was not during spring turkey season. 

Our Spring

Why do I always desire to blog about springtime?  It must be that feeling of renewal, activity, growth, and optimism.

I started mowing the lawn in March while my son in Chicago still had snow.

It was wonderful when the redbuds bloomed.

I was fortunate to call in and harvest a 22-lb. gobbler the second morning of the spring turkey season.  That makes Number 22 for me.  My dad shot 68 turkeys in his hunting lifetime.  I have a ways to go.

It is always a thrill to see the woods come alive with flowering dogwoods.  We have a dogwood in our back yard to enjoy.

Springtime in My Corner of the Ozarks often brings stormy weather.  Yesterday, April 30, found the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks hit with heavy rain, strong winds, tornadoes, flooding, and wind damage.

No storm damage at our house, but we got 3.5 inches of rain overnight and a lake in the back yard.

So springtime can be wonderful or terrible.  Pray for those folks in scattered places in the Ozarks (Lebanon, Miller, Purdy, Ozark Rogersville, Wheaton in MO, and Bergman and Lead Hill in AR) who lost everything last night.

Trouble for Turkeys?

This is the season for snapping photos of fall colors.  Sorry.  My view of the fall foliage has often been as seen below:  peering through the woods out of a ground blind.  Not the best vantage for good shots of the fall colors. 

The Missouri fall turkey season extends for the whole month of October.  I got a gobbler in the 2018 spring season, but nothing this fall.  Sure.  I enjoyed some beautiful afternoons scouting for turkeys and sitting and watching for turkeys.  I saw lots of other birds and many deer.  But not one turkey.

I'm not alone.  Hunter interest in fall turkey hunting and hunting success is always low.  But it is still a pleasant fall activity. 

I expected it to be a challenge.  Before the season the Missouri Department of Conservation reported that wild turkey production had been low for three years.  I didn't think much about that.  All wildlife populations fluctuate.  That is especially true for ground nesters.  It can be too wet, too dry, too cold, or too hot for good hatching. 

Then... I read an article in the Wildlife Professional entitled "Are Turkeys in Trouble?"   That got my attention.  Dana Kobilinsky, staff writer with The Wildlife Society, interviewed wild turkey biologist all across the Midwest and eastern U. S. Biologists in New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Missouri and others reported declining harvest correlated with declining population indices. 

Oh no!!  Don't tell me we are going to lose our good turkey numbers like we did our quail populations back in the 1980's! 

Why?  Reproduction is dwindling. Why?  Good question.  Spring nest season weather has probably been a factor.  After our April 29, 2017 flooding rains in the Ozarks, that is what one would expect.  Hopefully, weather will cooperate to permit good nest success in the coming years.

But there could be other factors.  High predation by raccoons on turkey nests has been observed in some areas.  No doubt, harvest pressure on raccoons is low and raccoon numbers are high. 

Habitat is almost always the bottom line answer to this kind of question.  Better cover would protect nests, and broods, etc.  Better habitat interspersion and conjunction reduces risky animal movements. 

So, what is happening on the landscape in My Corner of the Ozarks?  According to Kobilinsky, Missouri turkey biologist, Jason Isabelle reported encroachment of shade tolerant woody species into our oak-hickory forests.  This change can impact oaks and acorn production, an important food for turkeys.  Woodlands are also being invaded by honeysuckle and Callery (Bradford) pear. 

In some areas of the eastern wild turkey range, grassland habitat is being lost.  That is probably not true in the Ozarks.  However, our Ozark hay and pasture lands are very heavily used and frequently disturbed, making rather poor nesting and brooding cover for turkeys. 

What does the future hold?  I hope better nesting season weather.  And better luck for this hunter.