A Chance to Meet Readers

         I hope that many of the folks who read this column can attend the tenth annual Grizzled Old Outdoorsman Swap Meet, held on Saturday, March 16 in the church gymnasium of the Brighton Assembly of God Church.  It is easy to find, just off Highway 13, five miles south of Bolivar and 15 miles north of Springfield.  It is an unusual get-together because there is no charge at the door, you get in free. Tables for vendors are also free and several are still available.  There is also no charge for visitors, a completely free event. 

        It is an opportunity to buy new and used outdoor equipment, from boats and motors to antique guns and hundreds and hundreds of fishing lures, camping gear, knives, rods and reels, etc.  To reserve a table, call 417 777 5227.  The meet will open at 8 .am and close at 2 p.m.  Breakfast of coffee, and sweet rolls and biscuits and gravy will be served early by the church youth group and hot dinner sandwiches (hamburgers, pulled pork) and desserts offered at midday. I’ll be there giving away free copies of both magazines I publish, ‘The Lightnin’ Ridge Outdoor Journal”, and the “Journal Of The Ozarks”.  I’ll also have all my books there selling them for about half price.

         To find the church, turn east on Highway 215 going to Pleasant Hope.  Then take the first left (Old Highway 13) and the church sits on the left side of the road about a quarter of a mile to the north.  It is hard to miss.  It gives me a rare opportunity to talk with folks who read my outdoor column.

         A week or so ago I wrote about a mountain lion attack that was in the news, and a few days ago I wrote about black panthers.

There really is no such thing as a black panther.  There are black jaguars and black leopards, but there has never been a black mountain lion confirmed that I can find a record of.  I cannot find a record of a black bobcat either.

         In a week or so I will send out that column about “black panthers” which I think will fascinate you.  Two days after I wrote it, a lady at a zoo somewhere was injured when she leaned over a fence to get a photo of a black jaguar and it grabbed her and pulled her into it’s enclosure.  So before you see that column here is a quiz for you…   First of all, what is the larger cat, a black jaguar or a black leopard, and where are they found?  True or false… males of one of those species have weighed nearly 350 pounds, much larger than mountain lions!

         Black members of several species, like squirrels, are known as ‘melanistic color phase’ individuals.  I have seen towns in Illinois where the entire population of gray squirrels are black.    And the scientific name for fox squirrels is Sciurus Nigra.  Nigra means ‘black’ in latin.   There are black color phases of wolves and foxes of course, but I have never seen a black rabbit or a black deer.  You wonder why it is something seen in only certain species.About ten to twelve percent of the leopards and jaguars are born black.

       In a recent interview an MDC official gave some false information about the TSE disease (CWD) in deer, which you need to know about.  It is on that website and concerns the feeding of infected deer meat to monkeys and what happens.  Also, any poor families which receive venison through the ‘share your harvest’ program are told that the meat is safe because the deer are tested.  You need to know a lot more about that venison than you have been told.  Read that too on my website.  With some newspapers this paragraph cannot be printed so tell others about the site, larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com.

         Many landowners do not realize that the MDC will soon require you to own 25 acres or more of land in order to get landowner permits.  They are asking for landowner comments, which is deceiving, because the decision has already been made, in an attempt to gain more money from deer permit sales.  The cost of those permits will also be increased in a year of so because they anticipate the loss of revenue as more deer hunters learn everything about CWD.  And they are about to buy a four million dollar helicopter!

To contact me, write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613 or email lightninridge47@gmail.com. You can often catch me in my office by calling 417 777 5227.