Localized Almanac Provides Clues to Region

Nothing like linking to a Southern Illinoisan article that's been picked by the Associated Press and placed online by another newspaper — in this case the Daily Register — but Les Winkeler's story about the region's own almanac should be publicized.

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - Spicebush begins blooming in Southern Illinois about March 13. Mississippi kites begin heading south for the winter around Sept. 2. Collard greens should be planted between April 1-30.

These things may seem like minutia. However, these facts and thousands more are common knowledge for readers of "The Waterman & Hill Traveller’s Companion 2007 Nature Almanac." Well, maybe not common knowledge, but at least readily available.

The Waterman & Hill Traveller’s Companion is the 10-year-old brainchild of Jim Jung of Carbondale.