Category: Natural History
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Opossum Afterlife
Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides. ~Lao Tzu One day earlier this month I discovered a recently deceased Virginia Opossum out by one of the wood piles. No idea what might have happened to it though it was not long after some severely cold weather. I decided to… Read more…
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Mustelid Moments
We need the tonic of wildness, — to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only some wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with its belly close to the ground. ~Henry David… Read more…
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Sharing with Friends
To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand in the cold. ~Aristotle This is the second post from our January trip to Yellowstone. After spending a few days scouting the northern range of the park and hanging out with some Montana friends, a group of eight NC friends flew out to… Read more…
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A Winter’s Journey
Winter is not a season, it’s a celebration. ~Anamika Mishra Melissa had another wonderful educator workshop to Yellowstone last month with plenty of extraordinary sightings including a Pygmy Owl, Ermine, and a Bobcat feeding on a Mule Deer carcass (jealous, me??). We planned for her to take some time off afterward and have some friends… Read more…
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Critter Condo
Be as useful as a tree! Give life to others; be shelter to everyone; grant fruits to all! Be good like a tree! ~Mehmet Murat Ildan Just beyond our deer fence is a huge old Tulip Poplar with a split at the base forming a hollow that stretches up 20 feet or so. This is… Read more…
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BugFest 2022 Caterpillarology Highlights
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction. ~Rachel Carson Our booth, Caterpillarology, was a tiny fraction of the hundreds of educational opportunities available at the museum’s annual BugFest event last weekend. This was the first time… Read more…
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Caterpillar Hunting
From east of the East-est to west of the West-est we’ve searched the whole world just to bring you the best-est. ~Dr. Seuss This past week, I helped Melissa prepare for the largest museum event of the year – BugFest. As always, we headed up the Caterpillarology booth showcasing the incredible variety of larvae we… Read more…
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Night Flashes
Life begins at night. ~ Charlaine Harris It’s not just moths that I have been seeing out in the yard after dark. The new flash system has been out on a few nights with me as I wander the premises (carefully in case there are any Copperheads out and about) looking for what’s happening on… Read more…
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Moth Night 2022
There are moths outside, ready to die for a light they crave but which is denied to them, … Sometimes, in the midst of all I have been given, I watch the moths in us all. Everybody has a light which they think they cannot live without. ~Alma Alexander A bit of a deep starting… Read more…
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Squeaky Bird
There is an unreasonable joy to be had from the observation of small birds going about their bright, oblivious business. ~Grant Hutchison I was out pulling some weeds in our yard jungle one day this week when I suddenly realized there was a high-pitched peeping sound coming from the stand of Common Milkweed a few… Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 