Category: Natural History
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Busy Bees
Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know it, so it goes on flying anyway. ~Mary Kay Ash On a recent visit to Mount Mitchel State Park I was amazed at the abundance of wildflowers along the high ridge lines in the park including flows of White Wood Asters, Cut-leaved Read more…
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Pond Jellies
Life is a beautiful magnificent thing, even to a jellyfish. ~Charlie Chaplin I try to swim every morning in the community pond where I live. The pond was created about 30 years ago when the area was developed. It is a great community resource, a beautiful setting, and a wonderful place to swim (mornings are Read more…
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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…
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Three Cat Day
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…
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Beauty in Miniature
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…
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Busy Bluebirds
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…
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Moth Royalty
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…
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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…
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Mountain Mothing
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…
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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…
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Roads End Naturalist 