When snow is on the ground, the sun is hiding, and the days are dreary, ponder this. Many people can grow a couple of tomato plants all winter long inside their homes. Of course the key is size and variety.

Most tomato varieties I've ever grown will tower over a human, and will climb up tall trellises, if they are tied securely enough. But sometimes (in the winter) we might not want a behemoth of a plant inside our house. Last year we grew, by accident somewhat, a tomato variety that is absolutely PERFECT for the south window in wintertime.

The following website is called Show Me Progress assembled by Hotflash. It's the continuing saga of how Curly, Larry and Moe, Shannon County's Commissioners destroyed private property along Big Creek, a major tributary on the Eastern Side of the Current National Scenic River. Angel and I photographed the mess last April and recently went back to see how the misconstrued wing dams and raised embankments faired in the horrendous floods we've had since then. It was clear to us that tons of sand, soil, gravel, rocks and trees are well on their way to the Gulf of Mexico.

This event will take place at Headwaters School on April 17, 2010. The school is located at Red Star, AR, about 50 miles east of Fayetteville on Highway 16. The event will run from 3 pm til 11 pm. Mountain Sprout will headline the event, preceded by Yellow Brick Road and Shannon Wurst. There is a suggested donation of $5.00. The benefit will help fund work by the Ozark Water Protection Alliance and the Newton County Wildlife Association.

For the past several years, here in Missouri's Ozarks, we are finally seeing turkeys again. Decades ago, when we first camped and hiked in this area, we saw dozens of wild turkeys, and were never surprised to see flocks wandering across fields, or crossing roads from one side of the forest to another.

Not too long ago the Donald Danforth PLANT SCIENCE CENTER, 975 North Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132 mailed a slick, color cardstock brochure out to many, including our household. I noticed the pre-printed "box" (in place of the stamp) that reads NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID ST. LOUIS MO PERMIT NO 5385.

October 22, 2009

Ms. Lisa Jackson
Environmental Protection Agency
Washington DC

Dear Ms. Jackson,

One of the most difficult-to-grow food crops for those living in mountainous areas such as the Ozarks regions of Arkansas and Missouri is grain. Because most of us who live on "Billy goat land" do not farm row crops in large quantities, we rarely grow much of our own wheat, barley, oats, etc. And in fact, when some of us try to grow corn, wildlife gets 99% of it.