Tucked in the rolling hills of Missouri’s smallest county, a sign recalls a vibrant little town.
Devils and Elbows
I found a hideaway. When I rolled to its door, a thundershower was beating down on the low slung structure made mostly of logs with mud chinks, its back wall standing just a couple of feet above the swollen Big … Read More
If E Could Talk
I climbed up and took a nap beneath the T on this sign, sharing space with the ghosts of travelers who stopped here long ago to add a sticky chapter to their Route 66 journey. Locals too. And Spring breakers … Read More
Best Show This Side of the Bolshoi
It’s not just the prairie chickens. Yeah, they dance big. But so do the prairie grasses, whose roots run deep in this community. And the prairie flowers, whose seeds can survive wildfire. The prairie is a salad bowl for buffalo, … Read More
Hiding in Plain Sight
Stare at this picture. Soon, a sign will appear. When you see it, share with all the bucks and turkeys on Facebook.
Sunset on the Family Farm
During the 1980s family farms could not endure a deadly one-two punch. The first punch by itself was devastating for a small family farm. American farm policy changed from Depression Era price protections to wide open full-tilt production, a “get … Read More
Turkey. Squirrel. Me.
Deep in the woods, Turkey Camp is the perfect venue to hunt turkey. But the turkeys are safe, mostly. The closest most camper-hunters get to birds happens when folks take a pull on the fifth of Wild Turkey that passes … Read More
Props
They came in succession like creatures from the deep, each one too long for its flatbed host, strapped down like Liliputian captives. Again human technology mimics mother nature, borrowing the shape of whale fins to ride the wind.
Rising Above It All
Dunklin is Missouri’s tallest county, standing almost 44 miles from its sole to its crown, and shaped like the left side of an hourglass, seemingly stuffed with cotton, mostly, until I scratched a little deeper. Down near the border, just … Read More