Mistletoe may be a welcome holiday sight when hung over a doorway if a loved one is near. Still, it can be an unwelcome intruder when found in your trees, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist. “Mistletoe is a hemiparasite – a semi-parasitic plant,” said Allison Watkins,...

Although not as commonly seen in rural regions as they are in more urban areas, feral cats – those that are most definitely not house pets – serve important roles. These wandering felines are often great mousers and keep the pest population down. A “barn cat” might be considered feral, and that’s ok...

Snow flurries and winter storms can be unpredictable and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) encourages home and business owners to prepare in advance before bad weather hits. “Outdoor power equipment like snow throwers can make quick work of a big job,” said OPEI President and CEO Kris Kis...

In honor of National Horse Day, I had the opportunity to sit down with Tina Krieger, former manager of Country Folks Mane Stream (the equine-focused sister publication of Country Folks , our flagship and agriculturally-focused trade paper), life-long horse owner and our resident expert on anything w...

Cows, horses, sheep, pigs, goats and chickens are still the most common forms of livestock in the U.S. but llamas deserve some love too. The ancestors of llamas are believed to have originated from the Great Plains of North America around 40 million years ago. However, they migrated to South America...

The National Garden Bureau has deemed 2023 the Year of the Amaryllis. The Amaryllis you decorate your home with during the winter holidays is a Hippeastrum. A member of the genus Amaryllidaceae, Hippeastrum bulbs are native to Central and South America and include 90 species and over 600 cultivars. ...

Did you know there are 1.3 million registered snowmobiles in the U.S.? And that the economic impact of the snow machines is around $26 billion annually? Snowmobiling is a big deal if you live in a region fortunate enough to receive enough snow to make the season happen. According to the Internationa...

The things that you learn doing research! December is National Pear Month and so, in thinking of the fruits, my mind immediately latched on to the first lyric from “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” But why was the partridge in a pear tree? It was speculated more than a century and a half ago that “pea...

Dear Santa, We recognize that you, like all of us, may be having a difficult time this year getting your hands on the materials your elves need to build and craft and assemble all the things we’re asking for. We know that we’ve been good this year, but that silly supply chain? Not so much. With that...