Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Author: Mike Dunn

  • An Eggsciting Mystery

    Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand. ~Neil Armstrong Now, my mystery is not nearly as compelling as that which drove someone like Neil Armstrong to conquer space, but it was a mystery nonetheless. On July 3, I was doing some tidying up near the shed when I decided… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Three Cat Day

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    Nature is to be found in her entirety nowhere more than in her smallest creatures. ~Pliny the Elder (Roman scholar) When visiting Yellowstone, it is a great thing when you have a “three dog day”. That refers to a day where you are lucky enough to see the three primary species of canids found in… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Beauty in Miniature

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    Find beauty in the small things… ~author unknown It is the time of year when I turn my attention to caterpillars (BugFest is approaching). So, I am always glancing at shrubs and trees that I know are host plants to see what might be happening. There is a small Black Cherry tree out back and… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • The Mountain

    Our minds, as well as our bodies, have need of the out-of-doors. Our spirits, too, need simple things, elemental things, the sun and the wind and the rain, moonlight and starlight, sunrise and mist and mossy forest trails, the perfumes of dawn and the smell of fresh-turned earth and the ancient music of wind among… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Busy Bluebirds

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    The bluebird is one of the most familiar tenants of the farm and dooryard. For rent the bird pays amply by destroying insects, and takes no toll from the farms crop. ~USDA Farmers Bulletin #513, 1913 I mentioned in an earlier post that I am trying to provide some video clips of what birds are… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Moth Royalty

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    In the jungle, during one night in each month, the moths did not come to the lanterns; through the black reaches of the outer night, so it was said, they flew toward the full moon. ~ Peter Matthiessen Lucky for me, that wasn’t the case this past weekend, even though an almost full moon shone… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Night Watch

    The night has a thousand eyes, And the day but one… ~Francis William Bourdillon Night time, a special time to be outside. I remember giving night programs as a District Naturalist for NC State Parks and how it seemed my audience was always a bit more attentive at night than during similar day hikes. I… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Mountain Mothing

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    It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning. ~ Vincent van Gogh If Van Gogh is correct, then I am ripe and have found deeper meaning, at least as far as mothing is concerned. On the final night of National Moth Week, 2015, I set… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Summer Peep

    What we see is mainly what we look for.   ~Anonymous One morning when I walked out the front door I noticed a surprise visitor clinging to the edge of the tadpole-rearing container I have on the porch. It was an adult Spring Peeper, Pseudacris crucifer. As I reported on earlier this year, Spring Peepers were… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Mothing

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    I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day. ~Vincent Van Gogh This week is National Moth Week, an annual celebration of the incredibly diverse and beautiful world of moths. Wednesday was a busy day out in the yard, testing some different diffusion materials for my twin lites… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn