Publishing Books by Karen GoatKeeper and Dr. Richard E. Rintz

Home of karengoatkeeper.com

Site News

For now all of Dr. Rintz’s botany books, Exploring the Ozark Hills, My Ozark Hills, The Pumpkin Project, Love of Goats, Waiting for Fairies, The Little Spider (listed by a bookseller), City Water Project and Goat Games must be requested through my Contact Page. It is working as far as I know. Payment arrangements are through PayPal.

One of the new arrivals: Nubian buck — This little Nubian buck kid from High Reaches Spring is already practicing his buck stance: look cool and disinterested.

Books published through Kindle (Amazon) are still available through Amazon. This includes all of my novels and Ducks Love Hats. The eBooks are still available as well.

The Buy Print buttons now link you to the Contact GKP page.

cover for "Exploring the Ozark Hills" by Karen GoatKeeper — This book has several of the first book mistakes in it. Oops.

If you have not met the new stomach flu, you are very lucky. It knocks you flat for two or three days and takes several more for recovery. Yes, I met it last week.

Politics is not supposed to be on my site. Controversy is not my thing. However: Missouri residents really need to support Proposition 1 to keep their Conservation Areas and State Parks operating.

Then there is the proposal to eliminate the income tax and go to a sales tax. Unless you are rich, this is moving you from a tax with deductions and exemptions to one with out these. I can’t afford a minimum 13% sales (income) tax. Can you?

Daffodils — “Exploring the Ozark Hills” is getting a makeover. I wrote the book years ago and it still sounds good. However, I’ve taken many, many pictures since then. This one of daffodils will replace one in the original book.

Although the nature essays in “Exploring the Ozark Hills” are still current, some of the photographs could be better. Crawdads are not the easiest creatures to get pictures of. I watch the barn swallows and wish.

My garden has problems. One is summer heat about which I can do little. Another is the rabbit invasion. If my chickens weren’t such easy pickings, I would wish for the gray foxes to return.

The people surveying my creek were back to look at the fish. I am amazed at how many kinds of fish live in my little creek!

Big Cabbage — One thing not on a seed packet is how big a plant gets. Yes, the spacing does give an indication, but I wasn’t prepared for this Savoy cabbage. It is the biggest one I’ve ever grown and is just getting started. A nearby leek is having a tough time. the frilly leaves are dill.

My Writing

Life’s Rules is now the top draft to work on. The flu caused a break in any computer work. Now I am trying to catch up on the various projects.

My Ship Eighteen draft is read. I did find lots of places to fix. Some were typos. Others were writing problems. Now the ending needs some work as it is too abrupt.

Mule Jumping Competition — Many people came for the mule jumping competition. This was new to me and I went down to watch.

I do see how writing can become a full time job. Staying inside out of the heat makes this easier. But, I still want to be outside and find new things to write about.

Sleep is important. It’s hard to do anything when the eyes refuse to stay open and the brain is filled with fog.

Mule refusing jump — This mule looked over the jump and decided it did not want to go over it. Unlike another small mule that knocked the jump down, it just turned sideways each time it was brought to the jump.

General Comments

Aphids moved into the garlic chives. These were minute black ones. They took down the entire patch before I even saw them.

Rabbits are a nightly problem. They wiped out my paste tomatoes. Several beds now have chicken wire around them. More will go up.

The garden looked so happy this morning. Half an inch of rain fell last night.

Most of the tubs are now empty. The sun makes them so hot, too hot for most crops. I need more sunshades.

Now that Spring has her kids, I am watching Opal. She is getting ready. Two or three weeks longer?

I have several writing deadlines. My 2026 goals are to finish Life’s Rules, Ship 18, Ship 19, the gardening essays and two Opal and Agate picture books. Is this doable? At least, I will try.

My garlic is dug. Trays of bulbs are laid out on the front room floor to dry. Even a dry year has given me a big crop.

I am presently reading “The Black Tanker” and “Dinosaur Mummies” . There are more picture books, “The Vanishing Sea” and “The Day the Crayons Came Home” this week.

You can keep up with my reading and reviews on Goodreads. As I finish each book, I take the time to write a review on Goodreads. Picture book reviews are on my new Goodreads page. Many reviews remain on the blog as I transfer only a few each week. It would be nice if those reading my books would do the same.

Finding My Picture Book Reviews

The picture book Goodreads page is under karengoatkeeper. As I get it more organized, I will add a link to it here.

I am very hesitant to add any outside links to my website. So you can find me on Goodreads under Karen GoatKeeper.

visiting conservation areas at Gerhild and Graham Brown Conservation Area — One of the first things I saw by the parking lot at Gerhild and Graham Brown Conservation Area was a large patch of sumac. It turned out to be smooth sumac, much less common that the winged sumac near my home. Sumac is one of the first plants to invade a pasture left to grow up.

About GKP Books

I normally sell books through Kindle and Smashwords as their sites are secure. Some books are only available through me for the time being. Please use the Contact GKP page.

Some eBooks (notably “Pumpkin Project and “Exploring the Ozark Hills”) are too large or complicated for the other sites. These are available as PDFs from me. Please use the Contact Me page.

All of the links should be working. If you find one has decided to go on vacation, you can contact me through the Contact Page.

Thank you for Stopping By

Keep checking back as the topics on the two posts change every week, weather permitting. Impassable roads can delay things.

I’m cute.

New Arrivals: Twin Nubian Goat Kids
My days in town are packed and long. The objective is to leave for town early enough to get everything… Read more: New Arrivals: Twin Nubian Goat Kids
First Book Mistakes
I finished my first novel and was so thrilled to hold it in my hand. Then someone pointed out what… Read more: First Book Mistakes
Visiting Conservation Areas
This year I have been visiting conservation areas looking for new plants for my Dent County Flora project. Missouri is… Read more: Visiting Conservation Areas
Too Many Projects
Especially during the summer, time seems to melt away. Too many projects need attention. Now there are more writing projects… Read more: Too Many Projects
Two Savoy Cabbages
I loved the picture, so I ordered the seeds. Alcosa Savoy cabbage is a nice, petite head with crinkly leaves.… Read more: Two Savoy Cabbages