Riding the Trails in the Ozarks

Recently I was given some old pictures from the 80's of a day that my brother,his wife and I went horseback riding. At the time I had a Quarter-horse /Thoroughbred mare named Uriah. I stabled her down on the Finley River south of Nixa, Missouri. It was a beautiful place to ride. We could ride the back roads to a spot where there was river access, well not really river access, but more like a spot that overlooked the river valley. The ride would take approximately 1 hour to get to a lane that would take you through the woods and finally to a power line easement that crossed the river.






Once you got to where you could see the river you were probably 100 feet above on a rock outcropping. Someone had constructed a log "seat", really just a couple of split logs that you could sit and see clear across the river valley to the next road. Often you would see hawks and once in a while you could see an eagle soaring around. It was a magical place that stills holds lots of wonderful memories for me.



I can remember one ride I had taken with my younger brother Mark that we had misjudged the time and it started to get dark on us. There was a small area of woods that you had to go through along a wildlife trail.

That trail was barely visible in the daylight let alone when it was dark. Fortunately for us the horses knew the trail pretty well. I led the way, or really my horse did, I was just along for the ride because I couldn't see a darn thing! We made it out of the woods finally and I swore I would never do that in the dark again. And I kept that promise, believe me!
There were many rides we would get stuck out in the rain, sometimes even the snow. But it never really bothered me because just being out on my horse was like heaven on earth. To ride something so much bigger than you that would usually do what you wanted them to do was amazing.


I've added the few pictures I have, they aren't that great but they do elicit some wonderful memories for me. The year these were taken my mare was pregnant with her first colt. She had been left with a young stud Quarter-horse for about a month and we weren't sure she had bred, I only figured it out for sure about 3 months before she foaled. But you can tell in one of these pictures that she has a big belly. She never was a big horse, not quite 15 hands and always very slim and trim. She stayed that was because she was kind of the "nervous" sort of a horse. Not everyone could ride her because she had an attitude most of the time. But to me that was just perfect.


The dog in the pictures was Jake, my side-kick.He went on every horse back ride I took.He would follow along never causing any trouble and once in a while he would even ride the horse with me. I remember more than once we were riding along a road that had a particularly bad dog and rather than get chased and possibly in a fight, we had a stump that Jake could jump up on and then with my help he would jump up in front of me in the saddle. It was always hilarious when we passed that dog, because Jake would never fail to bark from way up there. It always seemed to piss that dog off.

I wonder why?

Another Conjunction in the Sky 12-29-08

Tonight the evening sky gave us another nice view. The slender crescent Moon is approaching a conjunction with Venus. Then the next two nights it will move closer to Venus and at the same time Mercury and Jupiter are converging for their own Dec. 31st conjunction. All of this happens in the Southwestern sky just after sunset.

This was the diagram for tonight. I got some pictures but they just don't show up here well enough.

This is a diagram of what we can expect tomorrow night.

This is a diagram of what to look for on Wednesday Night.

Hopefully I'll have some better pictures tomorrow that I can add here.

Happy Sky watching!

Skywatch Friday #6 Christmas Week in the Ozarks

We have had clouds it seems for weeks, but finally they cleared and I was able to get some shots. All of these were taken in the last week and we had very few clouds to speak of most nights. But regardless of the lack of clouds we had some spectacular sunsets! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.




The Sunsets of Christmas Week

I loved the way the clouds looked on this night. Dec. 19, 2008

This was taken on Sunday Dec 21, 2008

I took this because of all the contrails, air traffic was busy on Christmas Day!

The Sun Sets on Christmas Day 2008

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Thank You for visiting!

The Saga of the Shoplifting Dog

This is just so funny, you have to see this!

The shoplifting dog

"A thief remains at large after pulling off a daring heist - in the pet food aisle," the Associated Press reports. "Surveillance video at a supermarket in this Salt Lake City suburb caught a dog shoplifting, KSL-TV reported Wednesday."

Not to worry, this guy will catch the thief!

This came from a friend of mine on Newsvine.

'Back Through the Checkout Line'

David Turner negotiated a cart stuffed with gifts through the aisles of the department store, swiping his card or reaching into his wallet for cash. This was the first year he could buy little Sarah every gift she had pointed to or torn from the Sunday paper. It was a good feeling. I sure don't have to worry about money this time, he thought as he dropped a few more items into the cart.




A new job, a fat raise, and a bigger house had all been part of his success package this year. Turner paused to let another shopper pass him in the electronics aisle. He plucked a video game console from a shelf and somehow found room for it in the cart.




He made it through the checkout line and pushed his heavy cart of Christmas loot across the parking lot to the van. As he tossed the unwrapped gifts through the side door, he noticed a woman and a little girl returning to an old station wagon next to the van. He tried not to stare, but seeing the ragged clothes on the girl and the tired face of the young woman holding her hand, it was hard not to notice.




The woman gave him a polite smile and popped the hatchback on the old wagon. She carefully placed two small plastic bags in the back and began checking the contents. The little girl gave David a huge grin. "We're having Christmas dinner! Santa Claus is coming to OUR house!" She did a little dance and spun around, shivering a bit in the cold air.




One of the plastic bags split and rolled its contents onto the ground. David knelt down and helped the woman retrieve the items and put them into the other bag. He saw two cans of beans, a package of hamburger, and a couple of cheap toys from the discount bin.




"Thanks," said the woman. Their eyes met for a moment, and then she looked away. She took the little girl's hand. "Let's go, Jessica."




Turner touched the woman's elbow. "Wait a minute."


Another force, perhaps the Christmas spirit itself, grabbed him firmly by the scruff of the neck. He popped the hatchback on the woman's car. He transferred all the gifts from the van to the wagon and shut the hatchback with a bang. The woman stared at him in surprise.




"Merry Christmas," Turner said.


He headed back into the store.


The End
Source is a friend of mine on Newsvine

Questions That Haunt Me

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... But it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Source unknown, someone sent me this in my email.

Wal-mart Husband

This is just too funny not to share, but first I want to give credit to the source. http://titaniumspork.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/19/2230376-wal-mart-husband

Be very careful around bored husbands, their creative juices start to overflow!!--

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her tripsto Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boringand preferred to get in and get out. Equally, unfortunately, my wifeis like most women ---she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wifereceived the following letter from Wal-Mart.

Dear Mrs. Hill,

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Hill are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras..


1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people' s carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

4. July 19 : Walked up to an employee and told her in an officialvoice, 'Code 3 in House wares.. Get on it right away'.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

6. ! August 14: Moved the 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. September 4th: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the anti-depressants were.

11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna Look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13. October 18: He hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed by, he yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loudspeaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO!IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'
and last, but not least. . . .

15. Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paperin here!!

Received in an email.. author unknown.

Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life.

Someone sent me this in an email, I thought it was good enough to share.

On the first day, God created the dog and said:

Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.

The dog said: That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten? So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.

'The monkey said: Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?' And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer u nder the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.

The cow said: That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty? And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.

But man said: Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

Okay, said God, You asked for it.

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.

For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family.

For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.

And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you. Hope you enjoyed it!

Skywatch Friday #5 The Ozarks Sky

Hello to everyone visiting my blog.

My first sunset was taken on Saturday Dec. 6,2008

The next one was taken on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008

The clouds were so thick you couldn't see the sun for a while and then all of a sudden it burned through!

Just a few minutes later the clouds started to really break up

This one was taken on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008

A few minutes later

It's amazing to me how much the sky changes in just a few minutes here in the Ozarks.

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Going to the Grandparents for Christmas

This is all 11 of the grandkids taken around 1967

We used to travel to my Mother's hometown for Christmas. She and her only sister grew up in Jewell, Kansas. My Aunt and Uncle had 7 children, and our family had 4 children. When we all met up at the Grandparents home that would make a grand total of 17 people! My Grandparents had a nice fairly large home with a full basement which they had set up enough beds for all of us cousins to sleep. All the grown-ups would stay up stairs. This led to many a fun-fest for us kids, we only got to see each other maybe twice a year so when we did get together it was pretty wild!

Grandmother Palmer reading a night time story. Notice the porch swing on the right.

There were many things to do in that basement. We had an old trunk full of old clothing, dresses, furs, hats and such that we could dress up and have fashion shows. We had a box of all sorts of toys, some homemade and some store brought, for others to play with. There were all sorts of nooks and crannies that we could hide out in during a game of hide and seek. There was also a vast library of Little Golden Books purchased for the younger kids, and many old books (history, reference, and encyclopedias) my Grandfather had collected if we wanted to read. There was even an old record player with mostly the old 33 or 78 records. We even had an old porch swing hung in the basement for us to swing on! When it was time to sleep my Grandmother would always sit in a rocker and wait for us to settle down and go to sleep. There was no talking allowed or you might hear your name and a shuss. To this day I can hear the creaking as she rocked! Another thing I remember is that for quite a long time there was only one bathroom if that house and it was upstairs. Can you imagine, all those folks and one bathroom!

An early family picture. My folks on the left, Grandparents sitting, and then Aunt and Uncle on the right

My Grandparents were pretty old fashioned and expected us to be little gentlemen and ladies while we were there, you didn't talk back and you followed orders or you might get that stern look that only grandparents can get away with. They were really wonderful loving people that had a very high standing in their community so you couldn't act up while in town either. If you did, someone would be watching and of course parents would be told and then your name was mud.

This is inside the Jewell County Rebpulican office

My Grandfather, Everett was the Editor/Owner of the Jewell County Republican Newspaper. He had followed in the footsteps of his father, W. C. Palmer in that respect, the Palmer family owned the paper from 1870 through 1965. I can remember going to the newspaper office to watch him work, which was very interesting indeed. They use the old Linotype press to publish a weekly paper and it was truly a family affair, my Grandfather's brother, Randy was the guy that set up blocks of type in the proper layout for the paper. My Aunt tells me he could read that stuff when it was upside down and backwards. You could always find your name in the local section as the grand-kids being in town was always news to the town people. I always felt just a little famous when I was there because everyone always knew who we were and would speak to us.

My Grandmother was bookkeeper, homemaker, event coordinator of the family and she always had something fun and interesting set up for us to do. She was an excellent cook and put on some wonderful dinners for us all. Always setting the dining table with tablecloth, silver and formal dishes for us to use. Of course, us kids were required to help out in some way, doing the silverware, delivering food dishes to the table, or more likely peeling potatoes or snapping beans. Some of the older kids were required to wash dishes after dinner too. None of us minded these chores because it was just something that had to be done and it was such a treat to all be together.

My First Award! PROXIMIDADE!

I recieved this just the other day from Old Lady Lincoln and this is what she said:

Apparently who ever receives the award is to pass it on to 8 friends. I know how busy most are, especially this time of year, so I won't be upset if you can't do it.


Also this was sent along saying that "Blogs that receive this award are 'exceeding charming,' says its author. This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award.



I want to thank Old Lady Lincoln for thinking of me and giving me my first award! I've only just started to do any blogging and have found her and all the others I have met so far to be lovely people. I enjoy following some, participating in a couple weekly things, and just reading other people's blogs. However I haven't branched out enough to accept this nice award. So I guess I have to politely decline and give a heartfelt thank you for including me!

Skywatch Friday #4 The Ozarks Sky

Hello fellow skywatchers! I have only two pictures to share this week but hopefully you will enjoy them.

The texture of this sky is just amazing! This was taken Friday Nov. 28

This was taken on Dec 1, the night of the Moon, Venus, Jupiter conjuction. I ended up spending a lot of time out in the cold that night!

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter 12-1-08

I got a chance through all the clouds we've been having to get a couple shots of this historic night. Here is a link to explain what you are looking at: SpaceWeather.com And here are my pictures.

This one was taken at twilight, you can still see the clouds hanging around.

This one was a little later, one of my neighbors was walking by and thought I was crazy because I was hooping and hollaring about how cool this was! Before he left I had him looking too!

Turkey is done and Christmas is next!

It's been a while since I've posted anything here so I going to write about a few things I've been doing lately.



I cooked my turkey earlier this week, ate a bunch of it and then cut up the rest of it for freezing. I ended up with 6 quart size bags that I mixed light and dark meat in. I will use them for my rice cooker dishes and soup. I also boiled the carcass yesterday and made stock. I ended up with a bunch of bags I put in the freezer for the same use. I'm not going to have to buy chicken for a long time!







I decorated for Christmas around the house and bought a nice Norfolk Island Pine plant that had some pretty little ribbons on it. I had one before and obsiously I didn't take care of it right because it only lasted about a year or so. I'm reading up on it this time and hopefully it will last longer. Notice the large stocking? I got that last year with my gifts inside.














This is my stuffed rottweiler dressed as a reindeer.














Some candle holders set in a decorative fashion. Notice Santa is here.











I had to go outside to get this picture. Not much order to these lights but at least they flash and look festive!



So that's what I've been up to lately. And guess what? I'm actually in a holiday mood now. How about you?

Skywatch Friday #3 The Ozarks Sky

We had mostly cloudy nights this week but I was able to get a few pictures to share.

This was Sunday night's exceptional offering.

This was Monday night's sky, looks like a wool blanket to me.

This was Tuesday nights Big Sky.

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Dog Tales

Why Some Men Have Dogs And Not Wives:

1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.




2. Dogs don't notice if you call them by another dog's name.

3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.




4. A dog's parents never visit.

5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.



6. You never have to wait for a dog; they're ready to go 24 hours a day.

7. Dogs find you amusing when you're drunk.

8. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.

9. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, "If I died, would you get another dog?"




10. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.



11. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.

12. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don't get mad. They just think it's interesting.



13. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.

And last, but not least:



14. If a dog leaves, it won't take half of your stuff.