Author: Mike Dunn
-
Wherever I Go, I End Up At Pungo
Every place is given its character by certain patterns of events that keep on happening there… ~Christopher Alexander On Day 3, my last day of this coastal adventure, I drove down Hwy 12 to Pea Island NWR. But, as I had feared, the predicted winds were also there, blasting 15-25 mph with sand piling up Read more…
Written by
-
Cruising the Coastal Plain
Never stop wandering into wonder. ~Suzy Kassem Day two of my wanderings started at sunrise at Marsh A in the Pungo Unit, watching the swans’ world awaken. There were two other cars enjoying the start of the day as hundreds of swans started to stir. When the orange backdrop faded to white light, I drove Read more…
Written by
-
First in Flight
Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly? ~Frida Kahlo I think I can answer that after spending an afternoon watching my favorite winter resident, the tundra swans, at the Pungo Unit this past weekend. It turns out, if you are one of North America’s largest waterfowl (weighing in at Read more…
Written by
-
Wanderings
Retirement is not the end of the road. It is the beginning of the open highway. ~Author unknown I mentioned in my last post that this retirement thing is starting to feel real. To confirm it once and for all, I decided to make a trip to the coast this past week. The weather looked Read more…
Written by
-
It Must Be Real
Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else. ~Fred Rogers I guess it is really true…I am retired (again). I haven’t had much time to think about it until the last few days what with all the holiday goings-on with family and travel. I have made Read more…
Written by
-
Dipper
Bird and stream are inseparable, songful and wild, gentle and strong – the bird [water ouzel], ever in danger in the midst of the stream’s mad whirlpools, yet seemingly immortal. ~John Muir I want to share one more highlight from our Colorado trip this past October. The trip was filled with beautiful places, great hikes, Read more…
Written by
-
Colorado
The mountains are fountains, not only of rivers, but of men. Therefore, we are all, in some sense, mountaineers, and going to the mountains is going home. ~John Muir Back in October, Melissa and I spent a glorious ten days traveling throughout the grand state of Colorado. We didn’t have much of a plan, other Read more…
Written by
-
Another Caterpillar Season
Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy or even diminish biodiversity? ~E.O. Wilson Yes, it is finally crawling to a close, another season of caterpillar searching, wrangling, and releasing. This one a bit less productive than some Read more…
Written by
-
Moth Jets
If you examine a butterfly according to the laws of aerodynamics, it shouldn’t be able to fly. But the butterfly doesn’t know that, so it flies. ~Howard Schultz I’m not sure anyone could use that quote when describing the sphinx moths. They certainly look like they were made to fly and I have always been Read more…
Written by
-
Caterpillar Countdown
Beauty can come in strange forms. ~James Dyson I thought about not saying anything else in this post other than the quote above, because it really does sum up what we found one night this week. Yes, it is that time of year again when we caterpillar-lovers are out and about searching for something cool, Read more…
Written by
Roads End Naturalist 