Originally printed in the Feb. 12, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News Animals have some unique methods of communicating with other animals, particularly within their own species. It may not be as precise or complex as human speech, but animals can share large amounts of information. Most people know[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Feb. 5, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News On January 22, 2003 Josephine County had a birthday. There was no big celebration because it has only been 147 years since the county was formed. But it is still older than the State of Oregon which[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Jan. 29, 2003 edition of the Illinois Valley News The town of Kerby has a long and energetic history. It began in 1855 when James Kerby settled on a Donation Land Claim. Together with Dr. D.S. Holton, for whom Holton Creek is named, Kerby founded the[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Dec. 11, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News The coast of Southern Oregon is a very scenic location. The rocky coastline with small offshore islands, waves crashing on the rocks and small beaches, and the trees growing almost to the water make a very picturesque[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Dec. 4, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News The Illinois Valley has been invaded again. Instead of firefighters or travel trailers, we have been invaded by birds from the north. We are not on a major flyway for waterfowl but we do have some songbirds[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Nov. 27, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Sometime in the summer of 1831, four Indians arrived in St. Louis, Missouri from the Pacific Northwest. Three of them were Nez Perce and one was from the Flathead tribe. They wanted to see William Clark who[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Nov. 20, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Humans have always looked up into the night sky and wondered what is there and how it all works. Patterns have been noticed and the reasons for the patterns have been deduced. The invention of the telescope[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Nov. 13, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Plants need to prepare for winter and there are many methods by which this is accomplished. Many of our local native plants, such as oaks and maples are triggered into this process by changing amounts of daylight.[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Nov. 6, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Two of our children and five of our grandkids live in Medford and so we go there quite often, especially when they need some help. Every trip, on going over Gold Hill and down into the Rogue[Read More…]

Originally printed in the Oct. 30, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. Especially the cooler days, I look forward to them all summer. Even the rain usually has a welcome sound and calming effect on the area. Colors in[Read More…]