On May 28th, 2009, approximately 125 members and other area residents showed up for the annual meeting of Carroll Electric Cooperative Corporation (CECC)at corporate headquarters in Berryville, Arkansas, at 10 am in the morning. We came to the meeting with the hope of speaking before the CECC board, management, and our member neighbors regarding our concerns surrounding herbicide spraying of utility Right of ways.

Gooseberries are not exactly at the top of most people's grocery list, for two reasons. One, they are rarely available in stores, farmers' markets, websites, or roadside stands. Two, many people have never tasted them.

Mom planted gooseberry bushes decades ago and yearly, during my childhood, she would bake a gooseberry pie which we all enjoyed, and of course it was probably completely smothered in white sugar! How did we ever taste the gooseberries?

Who says one must garden to harvest free food? Many wild edibles abound, here in Missouri, as well as elsewhere. Now is the time both wild and domestic strawberries ripen, although some domesticated varieties are touted as "ever-blooming", but often they do not live up to the name. It matters not, because when strawberries ripen, which is usually May and June around here, it is best to harvest before wildlife beats you to them.

Collecting and cooking maple sap into syrup is a longstanding winter tradition in many eastern states, but how many realize it is also a practice in Missouri's Ozarks, and probably other states?
This year I cooked my usual small amount from 4-8 trees and was rewarded with the usual, delicious genuine 100% organic maple syrup. They say it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, but I find it is more like 60-80 gallons of sap to each gallon of syrup, as I prefer a slightly thicker (and hence sweeter) end product.

April 6, 2009

CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

The Hon. Tony Orchard, Presiding Commissioner
Shannon County Commission
111 N. Main Street
Eminence, MO 65466

Re: Notice of Intent to Sue Pursuant to Section 505
of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1365(a)(1)

Dear Mr. Orchard:

When my family and I moved to the Ozark Mountains of Missouri 29 years ago, we lived without a phone, running water or electricity. There were no personal computers and the internet was just being invented. We loved the pristine rivers and springs, the clean air and the ability to raise an organic garden in a relatively clean environment. As "foreigners", we didn't really expect to meld perfectly with hill country culture or history. It was different from where my wife and I grew up.

Immune System Gold in the Ozark Hills

 by Sasha Daucus