You got wild pigs and turkeys and deer too, right? Sounds like a hunters/nature lovers dream. I remember when I was a kid, we spent 2 to 4 weeks a year down there. I used to go hiking in the woods and look for lizzards, fossils, tarantulas(sp?), indian artifacts, and tracks...all while trying to avoid ticks and snakes. Not many people are aware that tarantulas exist in the wild in those parts.
Haha! Yes, tarantulas, about twice a year, they migrate...funny to see them running across the road...I was doing yard work, turned over a rock, and a really large one crawled out...they don't bother me as much as the hornets, though...and I did get a scorpion sting a several years ago walking into the barn...It knocked me down to my hands and knees, felt like someone hit my back with a board with a nail sticking out of it, the skin turned yellow for about 8 inches around it, all the muscles were sore for weeks, it left a little pit.
Yes, the Missouri Ozarks are a nature lover's dream...;-D (Just kidding, we'll never leave!)