Meet Karen GoatKeeper
Growing up in southern California, Karen GoatKeeper went camping with her family in the desert, at the beach and in the mountains fostering her love of natural areas. Biological science drew her to the University of California, Los Angeles, and led her into teaching high school science.
Nubian dairy goats became another part of Karen GoatKeeper’s life. They form the bookmarks of her days and have for over forty years. Chickens and gardening complete her foray into homesteading.
Never one to sit still, Karen GoatKeeper moves between genres in her writing. All her books reflect her love of language, nature, science and goats. She calls the Missouri Ozarks home.
Meet Dr. Richard E. Rintz
Dr. Rintz attended Michigan State University, the University of Maryland and the University of Florida. He holds a PhD in botany. During the three years he spent teaching in Malaysia, he became interested in the genus Hoya finding several new species. This interest switched to the family Asclepiadaceae in the United States as they are native plants.
It took over ten years of traviling around the United States, but Dr. Rintz tracked down all the members of the genus Asclepias found in the states, including those considered rare and endangered. In the process he found a new species of Matelea, another genus in the family. He brought home sample flowers and many photographs of these plants in their native habitats to complete his research.
Another interesting find was a pipevine, family Aristolochiaceae, spurring his interest in these beautiful, strange flowers.
He is now retired and living in the Missouri Ozarks.