Halloween Black Cat

Stinky The Black Halloween Cat
Following me on a walk

Eight years ago tonight I stood out in the dark with my daughters and wife admiring our handiwork at carving pumpkins. We had lit candles in the hollow orbs and they glowed, "cool" we said together. Out of the dark came a pitiful meow, we turned and squinted into the dark and listened as the meow came closer and closer across the front yard out of the tall grass. We couldn't see her as black as she was, she was skinny and about a week past being weaned. That's how Stinky the Black cat showed up at our place on Halloween eve. Shes been here ever since, we wont go into how or why my girls called her stinky. She didn't work out with the other house cat the aloof miss kitty, so she became our shed, garage and general outside cat. We live a mile or so out of town, over the years we have had several cats dumped here. We feed them, most move on. Stinky stayed. The dogs and other outside cats treat her as royalty, shes fast with a claw. She follows me when I go for walks. She climbs every fence post or any vertical object hoping Ill scratch her head, I usually oblige.

Flea Market Fawn

Flea Market near Sarcoxie Missouri

Wordless Wednesday

Road side Morning Glory

Leavenworth County

Festival of Trees

Yesterday I went looking for trees that might fit this months Halloween theme for the festival of the trees. Just a few miles from the prairie sits a little forest that I had been to before and thought I might find what I needed. Lester Davis lived here around 75 years ago when this was mined land, coal mostly. Lester being a bit of an eccentric and and maybe a bit of an environmentalist decided to create a small forest here when the coal ran out. This is an 85-acre forest with 5 acres of strip pits. The area was mined land that was planted with trees by Lester Davis, the previous owner. There are over 50 species of native and non-native trees and shrubs.
But Lester didn't just plant a few of each he planned it out so that there are stands of Pines, Oaks, Cedars, Tulip Trees and just about anything else that would grow here. Now all around seventy years old and about that tall.

It is really like walking in one of those forests we read about (or as close as you're gonna come to it in SW MO) in fairy tales as kids. Some might consider it scary, I know my daughters did when they were young. Rarely did they run ahead over the next hill as they usually did in other places. The trail winds quietly along on leaves, moss and rock. Even when its windy its quiet here, except for the tops of trees that might be swaying and rubbing making noise. Of course there is the sound of flickers and woodpeckers probing for food and the occasional crow.
I do always find myself when alone here looking behind expecting to see a cougar or small bear following me silently. Hasn't happened yet, but up ahead I did see a turkey slip behind some vines and a white tail buck stood watching me for a moment.
Did I find any scary trees?
These vine covered trees pointed the way to a clearing where I found this tree.
Maybe an ent? maybe a tree being celebrating the morning with arms lifted high. Maybe.

The Lester R. Davis Memorial Forest

Rust

Barn Door

Barton County Missouri

Wildcat Glades Conservation Center

Native grasses and Wildflowers
Cave along the trail
Looking up through the leaves

Limestone Boulder Sitting In Shoal Creek

Last Sunday my wife and I wandered over to The Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center just south of Joplin Missouri. The new Facility is a state of the art "green" building with classrooms, interactive displays and a really green roof, it has grass growing on it! We hiked along a tree covered trail that follows Shoal creek. It was a warm fall day, a breeze kept our hike cool as we hiked along a few miles of the trails in this unique area. As we walked we kept looking down to our right watching the creek. On the other side of the trail steep limestone hills and bluffs looked over us. Shoal creek is considered a true Ozarkian stream. We passed western painted and soft shell turtles sunning themselves on logs, and other hikers who as they passed smiled and said "beautiful day isn't it?".
Also found here are Chert Glades. According to our trail map; " The Chert Glades here are a globally unique habitat type found primarily in southwest Missouri. Approximately 60 acres of this habitat are left in the world: 27 acres are within Wildcat park. Glades are very dry places with thin soils - Missouri's own deserts."

For more information go to http://www.wildcatglades.audubon.org/

Prairie State Park

Looking South

Barton County

Southwest Missouri

"We were soon free of the woods and bushes, and fairly upon the broad prairie." Francis Parkman

Spider Web

Prairie State Park

Barton County Missouri

Sunflowers

Barton County

Prairie State Park

Just north of a small very sleepy town in Southwest Missouri lies a wonderful secret. The Prairie survives here. Bison and Elk, Coyotes, White Tail Deer are all found in this area managed by grazing and fire.

According to the Missouri Dept. Of Conservation; "Prairie State Park was created to recapture this lost heritage through visitor experience and interpretation, and to preserve forever a unique and rare diversity of life. The park, which totals more than 3,700 acres, is Missouri's largest remaining tallgrass prairie landscape.
More than 13 million acres of original prairie once covered Missouri. By the late 1960's, this had dwindled to 250,000 acres; today only 65,000 acres of Missouri's tallgrass prairie remain, and most of this is in small bits and pieces.
Conversion of Missouri's once vast prairie has left few natural places as refuges for the unique plants and animals that make up a prairie. A prairie is an amazingly diverse and complex ecosystem containing more than 350 different species of grasses and wildflowers.
More than 150 bird species are recorded at Prairie State Park. Certain other animals, including the southern plains skink and numerous insect species are found nowhere else in the state. At least 25 park plant and animal species are listed as rare or endangered."


More information and directions can be found here:

http://www.bartoncounty.com/prairestatepark.htm

Blog Action Day; The Environment