Faulkner
Member
A week or so back on my day off I decided that Daisy and I needed to go check on a friend I go to church with that had recently had surgery to install some heart stents. Pete works for the county road department but he lives way out in the boonies on a 40 acre place where he and his wife raise and sell some nice black angus beef cattle. Their place is about 25 miles away and it's at least 15 miles from the closest paved road.
I usually bring my camera along and I was anticipating seeing some wildlife along the way for a picture or two and maybe get a few scenery shots as well. I loaded Daisy up in her carrier in the back of the truck and we left around 8:00 am headed off towards a remote rural part of the Ozarks. Not long after I turned off the paved road onto a county maintained gravel road I noticed a small herd of whitetails grazing so I pulled up to a stop to get a picture. One relatively young doe got curious and walked up pretty close to the road to check me out while I was taking it's picture.
A couple miles down the gravel road we topped out on a open plateau with a pasture on both sides of the road and a good view of the ridgeline I was headed to in the background. I stopped and let Daisy out for a bit when these black-eyed Susan's on the fence row caught my eye for a picture.
With Daisy loaded back up we took off down the road for another 4 miles and turned off on a dirt country road. The only gravel I saw on this road was the occasional place where the county had dumped a load to fill a low spot. I've been up this road during the wet season in the spring and it can be a mess. I was taking my time easing up the road, enjoying the scenery and keeping an eye out for wildlife when I rounded a curve in the road and stopped and took this picture with my iPhone through the windshield. As I've already noted, this is a rural part of the county and sheriff's deputies don't get up this way on patrol but a couple of times a month. The main reason I took the picture is because I'd never seen this purple vehicle before, it was unique enough that I'd remembered it if I had. With it being archery season I suspected it might be a hunter from outside the county.
A little further up the road I came upon an old abandoned homestead. Not much left but the chimney and a dilapidated barn and the remaining fence from hog pen. As I drove by, though, something caught my eye at the hog pen. I stopped the truck and pulled out my camera and was able to get a few pictures of a green heron. Though not necessarily rare, they are hard to get pictures of because they are so shy and do most of the feeding at night. I've seen them before, but I've never been able to get a good picture of one so I was excited to capture this one.
Daisy and I finally made it to Pete's place and as we pulled up the drive I was glad to see he was sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch so at least he was up and around after the surgery. I let Daisy out and we walked up to porch and I found another chair to sit in while we visited. Pete's basset hound, Bo, was relaxed on the porch next to Pete. Daisy and Bo have met before and Bo don't ever seemed to get too excited about anything unless it has long ears and cotton tail.
I had a good visit with Pete and he seemed to be recovering well from his surgery. As we visited he asked me which roads I used to come up the mountain and did I see anyone. I told him about the purple vehicle and he said he knew who that was. It was the nephew of the guy who owned all the property along that road. The nephew lived up in Springfield, Missouri, and came down every year to bow hunt on his uncle's place. Pete said there are some monster bucks in that area.
Pete also told me he'd heard that the old concrete bridge across the creek on Fortson Road got caved in yesterday when an overloaded log truck went over it. He said the log truck made it past but was told the bridge was impassable. I told him I'd go out that way and check it on my way home. Pete said that bridge was probably 40 years old and they'd never had a problem with it with local traffic and farm equipment, but even with load limit signs the loggers had been going across it way overloaded and he knew this was bound to happen.
We had a good visit and Pete seemed appreciative that we made the trip up the mountain to come check on him. Daisy and I loaded up and started our trip back home, but we went back a different way so we could check on the Fortson Road bridge. Twenty minutes later I pulled up to the bridge and sure enough, it was pretty obvious it had collapsed under a load heavier than it was designed for. I took a few pictures and figured I'd write up a report for the Road Department and take it to them on Monday.
Daisy and I were home by noon from our outing and had a good time out and about in the Ozarks.
I usually bring my camera along and I was anticipating seeing some wildlife along the way for a picture or two and maybe get a few scenery shots as well. I loaded Daisy up in her carrier in the back of the truck and we left around 8:00 am headed off towards a remote rural part of the Ozarks. Not long after I turned off the paved road onto a county maintained gravel road I noticed a small herd of whitetails grazing so I pulled up to a stop to get a picture. One relatively young doe got curious and walked up pretty close to the road to check me out while I was taking it's picture.
A couple miles down the gravel road we topped out on a open plateau with a pasture on both sides of the road and a good view of the ridgeline I was headed to in the background. I stopped and let Daisy out for a bit when these black-eyed Susan's on the fence row caught my eye for a picture.
With Daisy loaded back up we took off down the road for another 4 miles and turned off on a dirt country road. The only gravel I saw on this road was the occasional place where the county had dumped a load to fill a low spot. I've been up this road during the wet season in the spring and it can be a mess. I was taking my time easing up the road, enjoying the scenery and keeping an eye out for wildlife when I rounded a curve in the road and stopped and took this picture with my iPhone through the windshield. As I've already noted, this is a rural part of the county and sheriff's deputies don't get up this way on patrol but a couple of times a month. The main reason I took the picture is because I'd never seen this purple vehicle before, it was unique enough that I'd remembered it if I had. With it being archery season I suspected it might be a hunter from outside the county.
A little further up the road I came upon an old abandoned homestead. Not much left but the chimney and a dilapidated barn and the remaining fence from hog pen. As I drove by, though, something caught my eye at the hog pen. I stopped the truck and pulled out my camera and was able to get a few pictures of a green heron. Though not necessarily rare, they are hard to get pictures of because they are so shy and do most of the feeding at night. I've seen them before, but I've never been able to get a good picture of one so I was excited to capture this one.
Daisy and I finally made it to Pete's place and as we pulled up the drive I was glad to see he was sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch so at least he was up and around after the surgery. I let Daisy out and we walked up to porch and I found another chair to sit in while we visited. Pete's basset hound, Bo, was relaxed on the porch next to Pete. Daisy and Bo have met before and Bo don't ever seemed to get too excited about anything unless it has long ears and cotton tail.
I had a good visit with Pete and he seemed to be recovering well from his surgery. As we visited he asked me which roads I used to come up the mountain and did I see anyone. I told him about the purple vehicle and he said he knew who that was. It was the nephew of the guy who owned all the property along that road. The nephew lived up in Springfield, Missouri, and came down every year to bow hunt on his uncle's place. Pete said there are some monster bucks in that area.
Pete also told me he'd heard that the old concrete bridge across the creek on Fortson Road got caved in yesterday when an overloaded log truck went over it. He said the log truck made it past but was told the bridge was impassable. I told him I'd go out that way and check it on my way home. Pete said that bridge was probably 40 years old and they'd never had a problem with it with local traffic and farm equipment, but even with load limit signs the loggers had been going across it way overloaded and he knew this was bound to happen.
We had a good visit and Pete seemed appreciative that we made the trip up the mountain to come check on him. Daisy and I loaded up and started our trip back home, but we went back a different way so we could check on the Fortson Road bridge. Twenty minutes later I pulled up to the bridge and sure enough, it was pretty obvious it had collapsed under a load heavier than it was designed for. I took a few pictures and figured I'd write up a report for the Road Department and take it to them on Monday.
Daisy and I were home by noon from our outing and had a good time out and about in the Ozarks.
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