Wisdom from the WOODS - Winter Remembrance Brings Spring Advice

Apr 01, 2015

During the recent winter weather which gave just about everyone the bad case of “Cabin Fever” there was plenty of time to reflect on things of the past and look forward to the coming of spring and outdoor activities.  Spring has finally arrived and with it some of the hazards of being outdoors and spending time with the normal things people do to get ready for an active summer.  Ticks are out.

I did a lot of thinking of things that have happened to me during past winters and they included a lot of activity that was not figured as crazy when they happened.  However, as I look back, some of the things were not too bright and some even dangerous.

I can remember when I was very young seeing Black River frozen solid from bank to back.  I remember dad talking about someone driving their team and wagon across the river at the Watering Hole.  That spot on the Black river is now Sportsman’s Park.

We played on the ice in Palmer slough and someone decided to see how thick the ice was and used an ax to cut a hole.  The slough was frozen more than a foot deep so it was really safe to play on it, skate, and other activities.

I remember my brothers tying a rope to a dish pan and sliding me down the river bank and out onto the ice.  It was fun but now looking back on it, that wasn’t a very safe activity as a tragedy could have happened if the pan had broken through the ice.

Hunting was one of the better activities but we couldn’t go too far when we went out for a hunt.  Cars weren’t too plentiful so most of the times we walked from town.  There was lots of game close to town as there wasn’t too much farming near town.  Lots of thickets provided good rabbit and quail hunting.

I remember one trip that we took hunting around Palmer Slough and someone’s house dog came to us and started treeing squirrels.  The season was closed but there were so many squirrels that a few of them were shot and put in a sack and I was sent home with them rolled up under my arm.  I can remember how good they were when Mom cooked them.

That’s enough remembering, now for things to look forward to. May 16 was the date announced for the annual southeast Missouri Sportsmen’s Fish and Fun Day this year.  The event is scheduled for the same location as it has been for the last several years, Don Jones’ lake on T Highway, north of Highway 60 east.