WEEKEND TRAVEL

Welcome to my backyard

As I type this on Sunday afternoon, the temperature is 35*F. 

Some ice is starting to drip but at 4 p.m. and the sun going down, that won't last long.

Nearly every branch is still coated in a frozen protection.

Like many places across the country, we have been drenched in freezing temperatures as well as a mix of snow, sleet, rain... you name it, Mother Nature has shared.

I keep telling myself this is nourishment the ground will need for spring planting.

I am blessed that I do not have to go out in this horrid weather.

Every time I hear of major accidents like the one  that occurred on I-70 on Friday, I have to ask 

"What were they doing on the road to begin with?"

Like the tragic duck boat accident in Branson last summer, these people were given 

AMPLE WARNING!

Even if by chance they missed the news/ weather reports, being out there should have given them just a moment to think - we better pull off at the next exit and wait this out. 

If you are an employer, I would hope you would have sense to tell your people

"Weather is going to be dicey, take a personal day. Be safe"

or

"Looks like the weatherman was right. Why don't you folks head out early today. Be safe"

Then there's the folks who can't afford to lose a day of work. They've gotten themselves so deep into the 'gotta have' mentality that they have to get a full check.

Well, folks. I'm here to tell you.. and something I've always believed.

NO Employer is going to pay you enough to be critically injured, lose your life or take someone else's in an accident. If you are hurt, chances are you're going to be off a lot more than ONE DAY!

While you are out, 

your employer is going to be looking for someone to fill your spot while you're off.

I think if roads are bad enough that schools are off or dismiss early, then businesses should at the very least, go down to a skeleton crew. No should be out shopping/ eating, anyway.

They should be home - SAFE - with their family. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Please comment below. 

In the meantime, BE SAFE - BE SMART - LIVE!

WEEKEND TRAVEL - Amazing Herd!

On a trip to Poplar Bluff on Saturday I spotted a field loaded with a herd of deer. I have never seen so many deer on private land... on  preserve, yes. But never in an open field. Between the ridge to the left out of camera, across the field to the far side of the pond out of camera on the right, I counted THIRTY!

This was as close as I could get. I pulled over and took a couple of shots then about a block up, I found the farmer's entrance to the field. The gate set back from the road a bit so I was able to get a bit closer. With cropping, this is the best view out of all of them.

With all the rains we've had, the fields are greening up and these beauties were enjoying the bounty.

As cars and trucks whizzed by, I had to wonder how many of them were missing this amazing site. I'm glad I was able to see them.

While we're talking deer (okay meat in general) I had dinner at my favorite restaurant in Poplar Bluff last night. Castello's is an Italian restaurant connected to the Holiday Inn. They offer Prime Rib on Friday and Saturday nights. Folks, if you want the BEST prime rib in the Ozarks, I suggest a drive to Poplar Bluff.

I'll leave you with these two pics.

The 20 oz. King Cut... medium rare. This is an end-cut.

The depth of the fork tines tell you the thickness of this juicy piece of meat .

WEEKEND TRAVEL - West Plains

Okay.. so this isn't really a travel type article but I had to make a trip to West Plains on Saturday. Never thought about taking pictures. Just doing what I needed to do and get home. I had things here to do before the sun went down. 

To get a better scope of West Plains, you can visit WestPlains.net

I love spending time in the Visitor's Center. I get turned around direction-wise when it comes to West Plains but you'll find the VC on your right as you're coming into town on Hwy 63 from the west (Springfield/ Willow Springs)  They have some great displays including a pants suit previously owned by hometown country girl, Jan Howard and a rhinestone suite by the late Porter Wagoner, also from West Plains. You'll see those HERE

I'll never forget the first time Bob and I went to West Plains. We'd not moved here yet but had purchased the house. We were looking for some building supplies. We stopped at the local fire station for information. Their directions to where we needed to go included Porter Wagoner Blvd and Jan Howard Ave.  You know you're in a small town when....

Finally, the 14th Annual Library Chili Cook-off was held at the West Plains Civic Center. This is a big fundraising event for the local library and the great programs they offer. Dr. Julie Hart of Hart Family Eyecare is the reigning Chili Queen! She's our optometrist and one of the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet... and I guess she makes a mean bowl of chili!


For the rest of this month I'll only be posting on Monday's and Friday's. I should be back up to speed and able to bring some Ozark history posts back in. Wednesday posts will only run if I have Ozark books to review and Thursdays... well, we'll see where my mind wanders.

Hang with me. You know we don't move real fast around here :-)

BACK TO LIFE!

I really needed the holidays. This year I was able to enjoy a lot of the things I love about the holidays, but most important of all was spending time with Bob. With the exception of the week before Christmas, he was home a full two months! We spent a lot of time talking, playing cards, eating out (more than we probably should have) and just enjoying being together. He had his tasks and I did the 'must do' list.

All in all, a really awesome holiday.

A huge thank you to everyone who stop by my blog each week. I promise to be more regular about my postings and give you something to see when you come in. ;-)

Now, I need to get back to work. 

One of the things I'll be doing new this year (aside from being a regular poster) is to video my gardening process. I should have the first one I filmed last fall up next week. I've not decided which day will be 'garden day' yet. Still working out a flow here. Since I've not really looked at any part of my blog planner except to put in the new 2019 calendar, I still have work to do.

While you wait for my videos (though they won't be as cool as Greg's) I invite you to check out the Maritime Gardening. Greg is from Nova Scotia and I am amazed at the similarities in our growing conditions. While I approach ours from a mostly straw bale angle, Greg is all about mulching, creating composting layers. Here's a video explaining the Ruth Stout method:

I also want to continue the parks and recreation aspects of places to visit and things to do in the area. Whether you're looking for a day trip, an overnight or a week-long vacation I will do my best to add to your 'must see' list. 

I'll be back on regular schedule next week. In the mean time, stay warm, stay safe and be happy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thank you for your patience the past view months. I am blessed beyond words to have you all in my life.

Here's a Thanksgiving music video. Set as background to your gathering festivities.

ON HIATUS

At some point we all need to decide what is the most important. For now, writing is the most important. I am on multiple excruciating deadlines. If you'd like to know what my schedule is looking like for the next eight weeks, please visit my author blog post on DEADLINES.  I hope you'll be come a fan.

By the end of September I need to finish revisions/ publish my romance novel, finish rough on first of a western historical trilogy, get contest entries written/ polished/ submitted (By Aug. 25th!) and hopefully a companion workbook to a talk I'm giving on October 11th.

In the mean time, I've been collecting information on articles I want to write and share here. I just can't make them a priority right now. I have to look at the writing that will net me an income. 

I will see you soon..
Safe travels!
Kelly

WEEKEND TRAVELS - sort of

My intention was to show you pictures of Blue Spring this week. The weekend before Bob left, we took a drive.. took the turn off Hwy 60 between Birch Tree and Mountain View on OO onto CR 492

About 2 miles on CR 492, you'll see this sign. you can only turn left. About 1.6 miles to junction 128/114. Just follow the crude sign. It's 3 miles to the river from there.

Of course, I have no pictures to show you. I can tell you the road was a much more pleasant drive than to Rhymers. As you near the river basin there is one steep spot and quite rocky. I thought we'd need the 4-wheel drive to climb back up.

As we reached the bottom, Bob's battery light on the truck came on. He didn't want to risk turning the truck off as there was no cell service and not the place to get stuck without transportation.

That said, from what I could see when we turned around there was a beautiful sheer cliff across from a sandy beach, separated by the most amazing blue water. I've only ever seen water that blue at Big Spring - which I'll show you on another trip. 

Here's information from Ozark National Scenic Riverways about BLUE SPRING.

I have a couple things in the works I want to start running here. I'll do my best but honestly, over the next few weeks I have 3 crucial deadlines:

August 25th - approx. 20 contest entries for the (OCW) Ozark Creative Writers Conference One is a travel article so that might be showcased here in some form.

September 26th - my birthday and the absolute deadline for A Christmas To Remember. That is my contemporary romance set in Eureka Springs AR. I want to have that finalized and copies ordered so that I can have them available for sale when I attend OCW the second weekend in October.

September 26th - Companion workbook to my talk on Social Media that I'm giving at OCW. Again, I need to be able to order these from Create Space and get them in on time.

I'll try to get in here at least once a week from now on. I'm trying to set Monday posts up on Sunday nights. Dividing time between blogging and the day job writing gets tricky when Bob is home, but he's gone for at least 2 more weeks so I'm diving in and tunneling through.

One of the series I want to start is Home Town Ozarks. If you have a small community with a quaint main street from days gone by in southern MO and northern AR, I'd love to hear from you. I might just travel your direction!

Country Blessings!

Kelly