Watching the wildlife and the Clydesdales

By Darla Buckhannon

Happy birthday to Patsy Tenkhoff, Shannon Dannenmueller, Sonja McMullin, Kim Shell, Roberta Grojean, Steve Whitaker, Jeff Dacus, Tammy Eifert, Paul Keller, Betty Walton, Robbie Coomer, Jennifer Vandeven, Celeste Shields, Gretchen Davie, Georgia Smith, Anna Williams, Angie Dees, Denice Jackson, Chris Kerber, Jeremy Hahn, Toshi Darby, Zahara Ressel, Hunter Teegarden, Gaytane Gardner, Shannon Harrell, Brent Wessel, Deborah Ressell, Linda Uhrhan, Zelma Birdwell, Clyde Eichhorn and Mary Dannenmueller.

Happy anniversary to Jake and Renee Hitt, David and Terra Owens and Larry and Marilyn Mott.

The Senior Center and the General Baptist Church thank everyone who donated, purchased and worked their recent yard/bake sales. Susie Pobst says that the Senior Center raised $1580.82. Anna Wicker Kinder adds their sale went well too. They made $1,600 on the yard sale; $300 on the bake sale and the kids made $100 on the pulled pork.

Who would have thought it would snow the first week of April, especially after a night of tornado warnings? After the wide swings in the temperatures, spring is surely here! We were thrilled to finally see the sun last week and clear skies. I was worried about my tulips and daffodils, but once the sun came out, all perked up.

Bird watching

Get your hummingbird feeders out! Pat Burger had a hummer at her feeder on April 7 and Aaron Horrell saw one in the woods that same day.

New beaks continue to show up in our backyards. One reader saw an Eastern Towhee pecking around in the brush. We saw a Brown Thrasher and chickadees.

Several of you saw the white pelicans on the northside of the Diversion Channel in the flood waters. There were two groups of them but easy to miss and might have moved on by now. A correction here: the Mississippi kites Richard saw were heading north, not south.

Richard has been busy building a new loft so he can separate the Mookees from the Indian Fantails. There is peace and quiet now in the Indian Fantail loft.

On a recent nice afternoon, Richard and I drove to Bloomfield and had lunch at the Shady Oak Market. Afterward we went to Mingo National Wildlife Refuge for a short drive due to the lateness of the day. We did see a lot of deer and turtles and a few ducks. A must stop is the visitor center which is open Monday through Saturday. Some areas might be closed, but the Swampwalk Nature Trail is always open. On a normal visit to Mingo, we like to have lunch at Mel's in Puxico.

Clydesdales in Cape

What a great treat to see the Clydesdales up close and personal in Cape. We saw them in their stable at feeding time. One of the bigger ones, Rico, who was waiting his turn, was showing his impatience by stomping his feathered hoof. Dalmatians Barley and little Merri were fed last, but they patiently waited while wagging their tails and sitting when prompted. It was amazing to read that this team traveled from the East coast since the St. Louis hitch was committed for the St. Louis Cardinals home opener. The Clydesdales are always a joy to see.

Several readers agreed that something needs to be done about the junked up yards and porches. Hopefully much of that was resolved last week with the citywide cleanup. On our walk around town on an early Tuesday morning we saw a lot of trash piled up in a culvert on Dame Street and reported it. With the heavy rains predicted, we didn't want it to wash down and block the flow of rain water. When we drove by Wednesday afternoon, it was still there and apparently the resident or landlord decided to leave it there for Thursday's pickup. We're on board with the Scott City Mayor Norman Brant -- let's get rid of the eyesores and bring back city pride! City Hall does a great job of dealing with dilapidated houses, but it is up to landlords and residents to do their part.

A few of you were curious about last week's 'then there was' about the television host who dabbed her tears with Q-tips. That was Wendy Williams while explaining her health issues.

Remember to tell those special people in your life you love them -- those three words mean so much.

Email your news and comments to me at darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

Then there was the return of the Prell Shampoo commercial complete with the sinking pearl.