Letters

Take A Break

You now have a firm believer in not mowing. My land management agent, (who is now retired) Mike Martin, got on me for brush hogging everything in sight. He made a great observation that folks that move to the country from suburbia have a deep inner need to mow. He was right. We do. It’s kind of like quitting drinking; it takes a while to get used to.

My new land management agent, Mike Gaskins, now has me using liquid brush hog to kill out the scrub oaks. It works great and is less costly to do than brush hogging.

I stopped brush hogging last year. We now have more deer, turkey, rabbits and even quail have come in. I only keep the trails mowed now. The quail seem to like that. We also have some of the prettiest wildflowers in the fields I used to mow.

If you ever have a hardhead like me you need to convince, bring them here to see the results. We have 130 acres and care for another 70 acres.

Kerry Stewart, Salem

Winging It

This hummingbird was trapped in our garage all day and was worn out by the time we found it. It was wrapped in spider webs and barely moving on the ground.

My husband picked up the bird and took it outside. Thinking quickly, he got an ice cube and dipped it in sugar. As the ice cube melted, the drops fell on the hummingbird’s beak where soon a small tongue started licking the drops. At that moment, I took this picture [bottom center]. Shortly after that, the hummingbird flew out of my husband’s hand.

Chris Borgmeyer, via Internet

Grandma Knows Best

I read the article about deer in the newest edition of Missouri Conservationist and was hoping it would mention this, but it only said the deer ran away from people.

My grandson lives in Parkville. There is a walking trail between him and the woods. The deer come out there in the evening and several little kids, around 2 to 7 years old, run down to see them. The deer do not run away; in fact, they come up to meet the kids. Two of these children, ages 2 and 5 years old, are my great-grandsons.

This worries me immensely, and when I’m there I try to get the parents to keep the kids from running down and getting so close to the deer. I think that it is unsafe, but the others don’t seem to think deer will hurt a person.

Please let me know if there have been cases of deer hurting people, and if this is an unsafe practice.

Roberta Mills, via Internet

Editor’s Note: Deer are wild animals. They can be unpredictable and close personal contact is not recommended. Does with fawns can be aggressive. If you do a Google search using the key words “deer attack” you’ll find a number of media reports addressing this issue.

Update: Poosey CA Fall Tour

The Poosey CA fall driving tour that usually occurs on the third Sunday of October has been moved to the second Sunday of October this year. The driving tour helps visitors understand the link between sustainable fores management and beautiful, bountiful forests. Poosey's mosaic of upland hardwoods and grasslands creates a masterpiece of fall color.

For more information call (660) 646-6122 or visit our online atlas, keyword "Poosey".

Submissions reflect readers’ opinions and may be edited for length and clarity.