Feature Columnists

Happy birthday to Don Vance, Samantha Glastetter, Diane Keller, Dorothy Black, Don Ward, Jake Hitt, Andrew Hendrix, Gail Walter, Tamra Leslie, Brandon Davis, Iris Crowe, Jim Whistler, Bruce Jansen, Cara Duncan, Michelle Asfour, Stevie Shrum, Versie Canady, Larry Horrell, Don Leggett, Pat Friga,...

Your evaluation of your life is your own. No one determines your perspective on what happens, except you. I write often about life, attitude, misfortune and how to best derive joy when it's all over. To begin with, know that life is messy. Almost everything begins with ugliness that ultimately...

The tobacco hornworm is often found eating on tomato plants in Southeast Missouri gardens. Too often it is discovered after much damage has been done to the tomatoes. The tobacco hornworm has a green body with seven white lines accompanied by black slash marks on its sides. It has an orange-red...

Fear is powerful. Fear can paralyze and push. Fear can blind us to the resources we already have and possibilities before us. That spirit of fear is what Joshua, the successor to Moses, needed to face down in the people he led. In the book of Joshua (Chapter 17) lands are being divided among the...

The insect here is called a katydid. It gets its name from the sound it makes when it rubs its wings together, singing out a loud "Katy did, Katy didn't" melody. There are many species of katydids throughout the southern U.S. Most are green. They vary in length from about 1 inch to about 5 inches....

Over the last few weeks I have seen sample after sample of plant issues from vegetable gardens. These range from disease infections, insect infestations and poor growth, due to excess moisture from all of the rainfall this spring. In many cases the gardeners are so disgusted they have said "enough...

I love to hike, especially in the mountains. My family and I recently traveled to the Tetons, and this range has me thinking about all of the things mountains are in Scripture: places of worship, sacrifice, transfiguration, reconciliation, promises kept and revelation...

In the last scene of the iconic television series "The West Wing," as President Jed Bartlet is flying back to his native New Hampshire after completing two tumultuous terms in office, his wife asks him a question. "What are you thinking about?" His answer: "Tomorrow."...

Happy birthday to Matt Abernathy, Jordan Smith, Connor Pobst, Martha Eftink, Ruby Eichhorn, William Finney, Tom Smith, Pat Glenzy, Kari Bickings, Sonny McCabe, Pat Barberis, Wendy Gadberry, Delores Shell, Mary Adams, Robert Hinkebein, Becky Seyer, Catherine Elfrink, Mary Ann Kagle, Mandy Moore,...

Happy birthday to Bobby Burks, Jeremy Chapman, Chris Robinson, Mark Robinson, Leonard Kluesner, David Lape III, Gary Kluesner, Claude Marion, Eric Cobb, Jack Coomer, Donna Fisher, Jordan Cook, Joann Tatum, Seger Ruiz, Fabian Schott, Gary Bentley, Lloyd McMullin, Joe Mohorc, Joann Schmitt, Scott...

I took this photo a few weeks ago. This is a native wildflower called plains coreopsis. It is an annual plant that produces abundant seed and requires little to no care in a native wildflower garden. Once it becomes established, it usually will reseed itself from year to year...

Janie had some relatives with whom she failed to connect. Many were older and seemingly somewhat uneducated. She felt they had little to offer in the way of genuine knowledge, much as youth think about their parents when they're teenagers. Nevertheless, she visited them, loved them and respected...

I wear a regular watch. It is black with a brown leather band and off-white stitching. It has a large minute hand, a short, fat hour hand, and a bright orange second hand ticking away moments of the day. The watch tracks the date and has some other dials that do something, though I could not tell...

Happy Fourth of July! Happy birthday to Abe Snider, Julie Seyer, Miranda Estes, Elaine Schlegel, Mandy Harris, Andrew Cannon, Lonnie Gibbons, Pam Harrell, Dana Miller, Donna Hinton, Misty Wilhite, Brandon Curtis, Delores Garland, Wanda Tankersley, Corliss Meyr, Lori Garland, Clifford Barlow, Jesse...

I recently had a conversation with a friend in which he told me he stopped going to church because he felt judged by the people there for certain decisions he'd made in the past. He was hurt by others' judgment and also found these people hypocritical...

Our house is sporting patriotic bunting for the first time in our lives this year. My wife and I have talked in the past about festooning our porch to announce Independence Day weekend, but somehow we've always forgotten to do it. This year, we didn't...

These two small flies are deer flies. True to its name, the deer fly does pester deer mercilessly during summer. I have seen deer on several occasions standing still, wiggling their ears and tail while being swarmed by deer flies. Deer flies deliver a painful bite in their search for blood. They...

Happy birthday to Randy Payne, Barbara Urhahn, Harley Wicker, Courtney Walter, Chelsea Walter, Ashley Davis, Ruby Dixon, Tedman Legrand, Sandra Patterson, Mark McGuire, Jack Simpson, David Griffin, Sarah Benton, Mary Eifert, Deanna Bridwell, Kevin Teegarden, Darren Lee, Bud Haislip, Marilyn Dame,...

Life can be wonderful at any stage. Unfortunate situations occur, and so do happy ones. Only you have to determine which outlook will be for you. Can you turn what most would consider a bad condition into a good one? Will you wallow in self-pity and refuse to go on? Will you continue with joy? Will...

No doubt you've probably gotten distracted in the middle of the day, decided to check your social media feed, only to find yourself being envious of your friend who is taking that vacation you always wanted to take. You've veered off course from what you need to be doing and begin to quietly sulk...

After researching North American ants on the internet for more than an hour, I realized how illiterate I am when it comes to ants. I learned there are about 1,000 species of ant on North America! Most of them do not live in Missouri, but many of them do...

Living things' nature tends toward life. At the greenhouse where I work, we often cut back flowers, cutting off the blooms. We aren't afraid of losing the blooms, aren't afraid they won't grow back; we get rid of the blooms knowing the plant will bloom again, we get rid of them so the plant can...

These are baby mockingbirds. The white material lining their nest appears to be toilet paper. Imagine what fun it would have been to watch the parent birds bringing the toilet paper to their nest. It surely would have made an interesting video. I wish I could have been there to watch...

This column will be published on Father's Day. With that in mind, I would like to tell how my dad and "dads" influenced me with gardening. My biological dad was an avid gardener when I was growing up. I can remember watching him spade the garden, rake it and then plant rows of corn, beans, peas and...

We have four pets, and each one has some form of ailment and/or disability. Our dog, our longest-tenured animal, no longer can hear and has what the veterinarian calls doggy dementia. (That's not the term he used, but it's the essential translation.) She walks in circles, gets stuck behind...

Happy Father's Day! Happy birthday to Beth Eichhorn, Stephanie Phillips, Janice Trankler, Chris Qualls, Thomas Moore, Ryan Dirnberger, Amber Schlitt, Jason Umfleet, Amanda Ford, Carl Kagle, Pat Burger, Regina Wall, Terry Glenzy, Ashlie Smith, Shirley Bucher, Ronnie Eichhorn, Randy Rister, Laura...

Happy birthday to Bill Hawkins, Lisa Stagoski, Richie Swain, Veronica Bennett, Don Seyer, Debbie Graviett, Janice Eftink, Jamie Keller, Dean Smith, Geralyn Siebert, Kristi Uhrhan, Matt Hanlon, Alvin Blades, Lula Rogers, Amanda Horrell, Bridgett Rains, Jody Riser, Don Sheeley, Billy Davis, Lynn...

How important is it to really love yourself? Everyone has heard the commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31). That alone tells you that it isn't wrong to love yourself. In fact, Jesus places such value on the self that he tells you to love others the same as yourself. It means you...

I am getting ready to go on a vacation with my family. We are spending much time figuring out what we need to do before we leave and what we need to take to enjoy ourselves once there. There is an awful amount of work to be done for a week of rest! One question I need to answer: "What will I read...

Shown here are the fruits of a persimmon tree shortly after the creamy white, bell-shaped flowers have fallen away. The persimmon tree is a medium-sized, slender but often tall native North American tree. The wood of this tree typically is used for making the heads of golf clubs...

Happy birthday to Paul Essner, Ann Hinkebein, Carla Lee, Logan Bollinger, Wesley Curtis, Lavern Ballard, Dan Heeb, Bill McCann, Betty Keller, Jeremy Graviett, Herman Sadler, Morris Montgomery, Bernice Atkins, Avis-Jean Wolfe, Ed Freed, Jack Owens, Movidene Cutler, Bob Dacus, Easton Mosby, Carol...

Because I recently taught college students who are transitioning into adulthood and am navigating the transition from being a student to life after school myself, I have been thinking lately about interdependence and how to balance being both an individual and part of a community -- specifically,...

When giving written examinations to students, it's often fair to offer some multiple-choice questions. Here's one. Try to get the correct answer. (Broad hint: The correct answer is C.) When a stranger smiles at you in the street, you should: A) Assume he's drunk...

Severe weather moved into Southeast Missouri on May 27, bringing localized heavy rain and strong winds. Travel conditions became dangerous for not only humans, but also animals. This baby raccoon was stranded in the overflow pool at the lower end of a farm pond drain pipe...

Happy birthday to Charles Sladek, Loretta Ditto, Jill Little, Melonie Payne, Kathy Holmes, Casey Hampton, Wanda Perry, Kimberly Foulk, Danny Loucks, Kristie Lynn, Terry Curtis, Denny Graviett, April Stafford, Shelly Dooley, Jason Sadler, Leann Hudson, Jessie McCall, Tammy Erlbacher, Ryan Goetz,...

Jim came bounding down the steps so fast, his feet barely touched the ground. He had just graduated from college with his degree, and he scarcely could contain his excitement. "I can do what I want now," he said. Although he had enjoyed the privilege of attending school, he had resented all the...

In March 2013, NBC news published a story about a family from New York that purchased a bowl at a garage sale for $3. The ceramic bowl, about 5 inches in diameter with a saw-tooth pattern etched around the outside, turned out to be 1,000 years old, originating from the Northern Song Dynasty which...

In my hand is a bullfrog tadpole. I dipped it from a pond May 15. It probably is a bit over two years old. A female American bullfrog can lay about 20,000 eggs in early spring. Southeast Missouri is within the natural range of the American bullfrog...

Happy birthday to Steve Graham, Tammy Rains, Jimmy Wolsey, Rockey Rainey, Chelsey Hanback, Marvin Legrand, Janie Fowler, Maria Collins, Neeley Bollinger, Marlys Ford, Gary Bell, Martha Felty, Stephanie Seyer, Amy Pobst, Steve Rogers, Stephanie Uhrhahn, Agnes Landewee, Garrett Pepple, Natalie...

The past two years during graduate school, I've worked at a family-owned cafe in Kirksville, Missouri. My co-workers and the regular customers at this place have become another family to me. I am grateful for the way they've so completely received me and allowed me to reside in their hearts and...

In Cardinals' country, my household is an isolated pocket of support for a team and a game few in this area of the world care about much. To wit: the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are embroiled this weekend in the NHL Eastern Conference finals. The Penguins recall memories of my dad and me attending a...

Over the last few weeks I have been given several plant samples from gardeners. These samples have leaves that are partially shriveled and show combinations of brown and green tissue. Of course, the questions are what is causing it, and how do I treat the plant for the problem?...

I took this photo in Scott County on May 7, 2017. These are fledgling eastern phoebes ready to leave their nest. Soon they will be sitting at the ends of dead limbs singing "fee-bee" and darting to catch small insects in mid-air. You may have a bird at your house or shed that puts small, pea-size...

Happy birthday to Jessica Holland, Carol Galloway, Emma Dalton, Eddie Lair, Gail Dumey, Debra Bader, Jimmy Roberts, Rick Duncan, Larry Glueck, David Moore, Jessie Brown, Wanda Hahn, Chris Montgomery, Shirley Jones, Leslie Herbst, Richard Sanders, Sherry Dirnberger, Rachel Daniel, Shirley Barber,...

I flung open my bedroom curtains to see if it was sunny or rainy outside. We had received much rain recently. Immediately the warmth and beauty of the sun warmed my skin, as my eyes feasted on the bright horizon. "We have had enough rain for a while," I thought...

I began writing with one notion: I will create a tribute to the women in my life. The trouble is when I began to list the women in my life, I quickly realized there were more women to be thankful for than time and space allowed. By God's favor, we each have a variety of people our lives are...

This nice-looking flower is the copper iris. It is a perennial plant that can grow from 2 to 3 feet tall. It prefers a lot of sunshine but can do well in shaded areas with limited competitive vegetation. The copper iris is native to North America, most commonly found in swampy low lying areas along...

Happy birthday to Priscilla Hornbuckle, Dolly Kluesner, Lee McDaniel, Nancy Reece, Malissa Powell, Phyllis Richbough, Carl Christy, Mary Duncan, Brenda Shields, James Blevins, Arlene Harrell, James McDonald, Steve Rose, David Bollinger, Roger Reisenbichler, Nikki Chambers, Margaret E. ...

In John 10:10 (NAB), Jesus says, "A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." What are the places in our own lives, our country and our world in which there is absence, death and destruction?...

My dear wife texted me the other day with a link to an article. Her message accompanying the link read, "I think you will agree." Boy, she knows me well. It was a profound piece of writing, so I looked the writer up on the Internet. Chad Bird describes himself as an author and speaker who says,...