Monthly Archives: November 2011
Wanda Methodist Church
The Wanda Methodist Church was founded in 1837 in the home of Jones Weems. Wanda is a small community in the Missouri Ozarks near Neosho.
The Barren Landscape of a Rock Quarry
I’ve not been to the State of Wyoming, but I’ve read fiction set there, and these photographs of a local Ozarkian rock quarry is how I picture it. Wyoming is a huge state, I know, so perhaps these pictures do not resembe anyplace in Wyoming, not even the rock quarries.
Splintered Tree at the McIlroy-Madison County Wildlife Management Area
The Big Man Gets a Bite to Eat
Chandler the Bullmastiff’s nickname is “Big Man.” This photograph is courtesy of Mary Weems and shows off Chandler’s tiger-stripes nicely.
A Walk Down the Hollow
Today while stretching my legs, I ended up at this bluff down the hollow. Like the other bluffs that edge the hollow, there is a small spring at the base of it, the very water that carved out the rocks.
Below is an aerial photograph of the hollow. It will give you an idea of where this small bluff is located in relation to our house and barn. Also note how this bluff is almost invisible when seen from above.
Is this the Skull of an Opossum?
The dogs found this little skull. I think it is a possum as it has the canine and the four molars on the lower jaw. Not sure what else it could be. The size is about right. Possums (or Didelphis virginiana for all you Latin speakers) are interesting creatures.
I once walked into a muffler shop and heard a man say, “I’ve eaten groundhog, but I’ve never tasted possum.” That statement doesn’t seem so out of place in the rural Ozarks, but might be surprising to hear in some places. Do people talk about such things in muffler shops in Boston? I don’t know for sure.
Discontent
The following is from the 2008 novel The Likeness by Irish author Tana French.
“Our entire society’s based on discontent: people wanting more and more and more, being constantly dissatisfied with their homes, their bodies, their decor, their clothes, everything. Taking it for granted that that’s the whole point of life, never to be satisfied. If you’re perfectly happy with what you’ve got – specially if what you’ve got isn’t even all that spectacular – then you’re dangerous. You’re breaking all the rules, you’re undermining the sacred economy, you’re challenging every assumption that society’s built on. That’s why Rafe’s dad throws a mickey fit whenever Rafe says he’s happy where he is. The way he sees it, we’re all subversives. We’re traitors.“
Mushroom Up in Siberian Elm
Up in a Siberian Elm in the hollow there is a large mushroom growing. The cap is about a foot wide. The Siberian Elm (Granny called it a Chinese Elm) is a native tree of Siberia and China that is not near as handsome a tree as the American Elm, but is resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. Photographs are courtesy of Mary J Weems.