Black Walnuts: A Local Remedy

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

(Excerpted in part from A Journey of Seasons: A Year in the Ozarks High Country)

In the Ozarks we are blessed with an abundance of trees, among them the stately and ever-useful Black Walnut (Juglans nigra).  These trees are not only beautiful to look at and make wonderful shade trees when they are allowed to grow to their full size, but they also provide valuable timber and edible nuts.

Striped Scorpion Surprise

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

This morning I found this little Striped Scorpion (Centruroides vittatus) in the gravel near our front porch.  Although they might look quite ferocious, these tiny, one and a half inch arachnids are shy and rarely seen.  This one wanted nothing to do with me and wanted nothing more than to hide as I attempted to take it’s photograph.  Even after nudging it into the open several times, it never once tried to sting me. 

The Great Apes of Sumatra (A Travel Story) Part III

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

(If you missed them, you can read Part I and Part II here.)

When we left the story last week, Dean and I had just come face to face with an extraordinary creature named Abdul.  A free, but not yet wild male orangutan whose eyes shone with an intelligence and knowing that was both unsettling and revealing.  Just as we turned to hike up the mountainside towards the feeding platform a female orangutan named Jackie came into the clearing walking upright on two legs and waved at us.  Instinctively, we all waved back.

The Great Apes of Sumatra (A Travel Story) Part II

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

(If you missed it, you can read Part I here.)

After walking through the jungle mist along a narrow foot trail that followed the Bohorok River upstream, the narrow dirt path suddenly vanished into an impressive wall of giant rocks that had obviously fallen from the surrounding bluffs thousands of years ago.  Although we were alone at present, this was obviously the place where we were to meet our guide for the trip across the river to the Bohorok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre.

The Great Apes of Sumatra (A Travel Story) Part I

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

In the half-light of a misty dawn, we walked quickly down the narrow jungle path that wove its way along the high banks of the rocky river below. The thick morning fog oozed slowly down from the mountains all around us, shrouding its highest points in a mysteriously gauzy veil. We had only been walking for fifteen minutes, but already we were soaked in minute, iridescent beads of moisture.