Author: Mike Dunn
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Spring Birds
The presence of a single bird can change everything for one who appreciates them. ~Julie Zickefoose An annual highlight for us living in these woods is the arrival of the spring migrants. They all bring a touch of excitement and joy when you see or hear the first of their kind arriving at the breeding Read more…
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Swarms
What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bees. ~Marcus Aurelius Earlier this week I was walking down in our woods mid-day, switching out the memory cards in our trail cameras, when I came across a termite emergence near the opossum hole. What I noticed first was a group of large Read more…
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Almost Normal?
…It is always my place to come back and feel normal again. ~Alana Blanchard That quote referred to a special place for its writer, one of the Hawaiian islands. For me, one of the special places I seek is Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern North Carolina. I had not been in many months, Read more…
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Opossum Hole Happenings
The opossum hasn’t changed since the days when European explorers captured it and proudly sent it to their kings. We’ve just lost a bit of our wonder. ~T. Edward Nickens NOTE: I think this has now been corrected to show thumbnails (I hope) I admit to always having had a soft spot for these unusual Read more…
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Blending In
I’ve always preferred moths to butterflies. They aren’t flashy or cocky; they mind their own business and just try to blend in with their surroundings and live their lives. ~Kayla Krantz Went for a walk in the woods yesterday and as I approached one of our woodland benches, my eye caught something on the large Read more…
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Completing the Circle
I’ve always loved butterflies, because they remind us that it’s never too late to transform ourselves. ~Drew Barrymore Last year I finally had success in photographing a chrysalis of a beautiful spring-time butterfly, the Falcate Orange-tip. I collected four eggs and their host plants and brought them inside to rear because I had no success Read more…
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Return to Merchants Millpond
Paradise is just a paddle away. ~Author unknown When I worked as a District Naturalist for the state park system oh-so-many years ago, one of my favorite parks was Merchants Millpond State Park in northeastern North Carolina. It is a true natural gem of our state and remains one of my favorite spots to spend Read more…
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Refuges as refuge
For every day of loneliness we endure, we’ll spend a day in communion with the life around us until the loneliness passes away. ~Richard Louv If you have read previous posts on this blog, you know that we are lucky to live in a beautiful wooded setting with abundant wildlife from insects to birds. But Read more…
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Changes
Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day. ~W. Earl Hall It’s coming. We can see it and hear it in our woods. The big change is near – the approach of spring in the Piedmont! The first warm days last weekend ushered in a host of Read more…
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Living in the Wet Woods
Nana always said the rain was nature’s way of adding sparkle to the outdoors. ~Mehmet Murat Ildan Surely the woods are sparkling now after what seems like weeks of rain. We actually have had some occasional nice weather, but the past few days have been soakers. Our clay soils have added some slickness to our Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 