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As I set here writing my column, it occurs to me this month is nearly over.  When everyone reads this, January is history.  Can spring be very far away?  Yes, spring could be quite a distance away. The jonquils have started breaking their way through the cover of leaves and grass.  The snow crocus hasn’t made an appearance yet and snow could be in the forest for the coming week.  So far our snows have been the kind I like, just enough to cover the ground and make driving a little treacherous on some roads and highways and most of it melted away in short order. I visited my sister’s house off Township Line Road Friday.  She wasn’t home,

Now that the quail season has come to an end in Missouri, one of the former most-popular sports has been put to bed for 10 months. Quail hunting was really a popular activity for quite a while when I was growing up.  I killed most of my quail while rabbit hunting.  Dad had quit keeping a bird dog by the time I was born and the only time I hunted behind a dog for more than one trip was with my bowling partner “Jake” Jacobs.  Jake was the advertising manager at the DAR and had a pointer named Pud.  With my hunting activities we knew where to find a few coveys of quail, but we had very little success. My

With the closing of the Duck season in the Southern Zone there is not too much game left to pursue.  Rabbit and squirrel seasons continue until February 14.  That leaves the light goose season which runs until April 30.  Almost all those geese have left the area before that date. One season that is not too popular is that of shedd hunting.  I have seen it listed with a single d but usually I use two d's to distinguish it from woodshed activity.  Most youngsters don’t know what I am talking about but while I was growing up, you wanted to avoid what took place in the woodshed! Searching for deer antlers that have been shed by bucks in late

When it looks like my outdoor writing career has come to an end, the end so far just turns out to be a bump in the road.  The SEMO Times decided recently to eliminate my outdoor column, but that wasn't as hard as being fired from the DAR after writing "The Ridge Runner" column for over 30 years. After two months, Brian Becker of SEMO.net called and asked me to continue to write for his internet publication.  I gladly accepted as I believe I have a lot of information and stories of interest for all his many readers in Southeast Missouri, Northern Arkansas, and anywhere else with the internet. With the waterfowl season winding down in Missouri, there won’t be much hunting

PHOTO: The picture is of Paul Woods with a large 8-point buck killed a few years ago in Ozark County near Gainesville. Probably the most popular hunting season in Missouri begins early Saturday morning as the 2014 firearms deer season begins. Legal shooting is supposed to start at 6:30 a.m., but most years that I have hunted there are several shots fired at deer a lot earlier than the legal start time. Hopefully, all hunters have read this year’s regulations and are aware of the changes. If you haven’t read the pamphlet for this season, you still have time to get one of the free booklets anywhere permits are sold. Familiarizing yourselves with any changes could save you a big fine