Columns

At the August School Board meeting in Willow Springs, one member, Matt Hobson, argued valiantly against mandatory masking on school buses based on principle, from ideas about personal freedoms. He was ultimately voted down because the practicality of requiring masks was deemed to be a small...
photo credit: Ann Hines
Not to disappoint anyone, but this article isn’t about the brunch drink made from orange juice and champagne. Nor is it about the tree from the Indian subcontinent which has hallucinogenic properties. Nevertheless, our own Missouri mimosa tree holds its own with its exotic pink plumes and lacey...
photo credit: Ann Hines
I gathered quite a few things this week: heal-all, mullein, mimosa, shiso, princess tree, and bergamot. I finally decided on bergamot for this week’s column because it is prolific right now. You can’t drive anywhere outside the edge of town and not see a huge patch of bergamot. Also known as Bee...
Pokeweed is a native American, and what a lusty, royal plant it is! It never invades cultivated fields, but hovers about the borders and looks over the fences like a painted Indian sachem. Thoreau coveted its strong purple stalk for a cane, and the robins eat its dark crimson-juiced berries. ~...
photo credit: Ann Hines
This month has been the most plentiful for mushrooms that I’ve ever seen. I’ve picked over a dozen varieties, more than I have ever picked in the same year. I’ve seen so many chanterelles, which we talked about last week, and I can’t believe they are still producing! I’ve photographed several...
This issue marks the two-year anniversary of our ownership of Howell County News. When this goes to press, Ron and I will have published 100 papers.  When we first took the paper, I was fond of saying that I didn’t know much about news. I was a writer who bought a newspaper. It was my...
1 Samuel 3:1 ...Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce (Berean Study Bible).   Unfortunately, during the priesthood of blind Eli, God had stopped speaking from the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. Thus, denied the divine vision, the people perished...
photo credit: Ann Hines
This wet, stormy July has had its perks: a bumper crop of mushrooms! If you’ve been anywhere outside your yard, you’ve probably seen this bright yellow fungus, it’s cheery, flower-like face pushing up amongst dead leaves. There is an orange variety, called cinnabar, and there’s even a black...
Photo credit: Ann Hines
Commonly called Heal-All or Self-heal, prunella vulgaris grows freely in fields and roadsides in our area. With a square stem, lavender flowers that look like a cluster of tiny orchids, and a delicate smell, Heal-all won’t be difficult to identify. It doesn’t get very tall, most of what I find...
There’s always something going on in Howell County if you know where to look. When my husband and I chose to make our home in the Ozarks five years ago, one of the biggest reasons why was how peaceful it seemed here compared to St. Louis. As the saying goes: in the city you ignore sirens and...

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Howell County News

110 W. Main St.,
Willow Springs, MO 65793
417-252-2123

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