Letters

Zebra Mussels

If I can’t wait five days to use my boat, thus allowing it to dry for the recommended time to prevent the unwanted transport of zebra mussels, is there another method of destroying them? Is there some product that I can spray in my boat?

Vic Neece, via Facebook

Moderator’s note: Pressure washing with hot water (140 degrees) works well. If you don’t have hot water, a carwash is quite effective, but make sure to drain any standing water. The motto of boat cleaning is Clean, Drain and Dry. If you use your boat in the same lake you don’t need to do anything. Also, if you pull your boat out on a daily basis, it is not likely to have adults attached to it. Therefore, getting all the water drained from the boat, i.e., bilges, live wells, etc., is important. Zebra mussel larvae won’t live without standing water.

Turkey Talk

The turkeys that live in urban settings are much less wary of humans. We have several pictures of hens on our deck rail feeding from our bird feeders. There is a flock of turkeys in our neighborhood, and we knew that they were feeding on the ground below our feeders, but the last couple of years they figured that they could fly up and eat right out of our feeders. We always go out and shoo them off so they don’t stay long. They are wary of humans but not as afraid as rural birds.

Bruce McNamara, via Internet

How’s the turkey harvest coming along this year?

Tim Nevils, via Facebook

Moderator’s note: Here is a link to harvest totals: http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/cgi-bin/maps/deerturkey/totals.cgi.

Steady Friends

I look forward every month to receiving the Missouri Conservationist. My late husband was an avid hunter and fisherman. After his passing, I continued to receive your magazine. The beautiful pictures, plus the information you print, are very rewarding. I turned 90 this year and enjoy it so much.

Pearl Northcutt, Mexico

I have subscribed to your magazine for more years than I can remember. My children grew up on our small acreage in Jefferson County with a love for nature and its beauty. I have to admit I always turn it to the last page of your magazine for the Chmielniak cartoon, which always brings a chuckle. Two years ago, a copy of her cartoon went to Iraq to my son who was deployed for the second time. Although he is no longer an “official” resident of Missouri, but of the U.S. Army, he still gets his copies of the Chmielniak cartoons, which he thoroughly enjoys.

Eunice Atwell, Hillsboro

All-Star Issue

Your March issue was outstanding. I always look through the magazine at the pictures and articles and decide which articles I want to read. This month all the articles really appealed to me, so I read the magazine from cover to cover. The article on robins [Just a Robin; Page 16] especially appealed to me since I am a bird lover and robins are my favorite. The pictures of the mother robin feeding worms to her young was heartwarming. It brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. All of your writers and photographers are outstanding. I noticed most of the writers were new to me. They did an excellent job. I also liked the dogwood cover.

Nancy Wunderlich, St. Louis