Category: Natural History
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Chippies
What a clean, pert, dapper, nervous little fellow he is! How fast his heart beats, as he stands up on the wall by the roadside, and, with hands spread out upon his breast, regards you intently! ~John Burroughs in his essay entitled, The Chipmunk, 1900 Okay, I may be biased, but Eastern Chipmunks have got Read more…
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Yard Tour
April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go. ~Christopher Morley It happens every year. Things start changing so fast in the spring woods that I can’t quite keep up. There are also the chores associated with spring – fixing up stuff around the house, getting the garden prepped and planted, and so Read more…
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Blending In
When we see leaf-eating insects green, and bark-feeders mottled grey, the alpine ptarmigan white in winter, the red-grouse the colour of heather, and the black-grouse that of peaty earth, we must believe that these tints are of service to these birds and insects in preserving them from danger. ~Charles Darwin Yesterday, while working in the Read more…
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Dawn Chorus
Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark. ~Rabindranath Tagore One of the things I love about early mornings here in the woods is the sound of sunrise. Much of the usual background noise of distant traffic and barking dogs has not yet started, so what you Read more…
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Roanoke Ramblings
A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself. ~Laura Gilpin I spent this past weekend in a magical place, a place I have been many times, but that still draws me back – the Roanoke River. The Roanoke is a major river that flows over 400 miles Read more…
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Ants In My Plants
It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about? ~Henry David Thoreau I think we all fall into that trap sometimes, perhaps too often – just being busy for the sake of being busy. It was probably more true for me when given some seemingly meaningless Read more…
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Sanguinaria
One of the most attractive things about the flowers is their beautiful reserve. ~ Henry David Thoreau The beautiful, pure white petals of Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, are almost finished now. Their time is brief, only a few days for each flower. They emerge in early Spring, each flower bud wrapped in the protection of a Read more…
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Pretty in Pink
In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light. ~Hans Hofmann This past weekend was beautiful…cold, but beautiful. I had planned a trip south for some bird photography, but came down with a lousy cold, so I decided to stay home. At least I could gaze out the windows at the Read more…
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Night Songs
Frogs are the birds of the night. ~Henry David Thoreau I think I may have used this quote before, but it is just perfect for my experience last night. It just so happens, I do like college basketball, but when I discovered I would not be able to watch the UNC game on TV (my Read more…
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Uncovered
I wake expectant, hoping to see a new thing. ~ Annie Dillard One of the pleasures of retirement is having the time to do things, to see things, and to take advantage of the situation when the unexpected occurs. The other day I was working on a project in the yard and was using a Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 