Category: Natural History
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The Sound of Spring
…on the first warm night I stepped out to the back porch and heard in the distance a wonderfully high, thin sound, as clear as the first stars over the bare black trees. ~Kathleen Kilgore They have been calling off and on for awhile now. That distinctive, high-pitched, clear call that means the end of Read more…
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Opening Acts – Flowers
Every spring is the only spring – a perpetual astonishment. ~Ellis Peters The astonishment starts slowly, almost imperceptibly. The temperatures in this part of the world tease, and then take away the warmth, only to bring it back in a day or two. But the woods are more predictable than the thermometer. One of the Read more…
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Opening Acts – Leaves
If Spring came but once in a century, instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake, and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change! ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow This past weekend, a few of us took a stroll on Read more…
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Caught in the Act
If they aren’t the cutest critters and the perfect poster-child for vernal pool protection, I just don’t know what is! ~David Markowitz describing Spotted Salamanders A friend and fellow naturalist came by this weekend and we went out Saturday night to have a look at the small pool out in the front yard. It is Read more…
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Happy Birthday
Wherever you meet this sign [National Wildlife Refuge sign], respect it. It means that the land behind the sign has been dedicated by the American people to preserving, for themselves and their children, as much of our native wildlife as can be retained along with our modern civilization. Wild creatures, like men, must have a Read more…
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Spring Forward
The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size. ~Gertrude S. Wister The change in our clocks this past weekend is one of the ways most of us know that spring is on the way in spite of the cold the past few weeks. Read more…
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Enough Already
Only with winter-patience can we bring the deep-desired, long-awaited spring. ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh I think I should have been more precise in my wishes in my last post, Until Next Winter….what I meant to say was I can’t wait until next winter at Pungo. I think I have had enough of whatever is happening Read more…
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Until Next Winter
Bird migration is the one truly unifying phenomenon in the world… ~Scott Weidensaul Having been stuck in the Piedmont the last two weeks with other priorities, I imagine the Snow Geese have left their winter home at Pocosin Lakes NWR and started their long journey north. The Tundra Swans have probably started as well, but Read more…
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Pungo Reflections – Sky
The sky is that beautiful old parchment in which the sun and moon keep their diary. ~ Alfred Kreymborg One of my favorite things about eastern North Carolina is the big sky (maybe that’s why I like Montana so much as well). And I have seen some wonderful big skies at Pungo this year, especially Read more…
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Pungo Reflections – Forest
Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares that will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering…observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops. ~Maya Angelou It was certainly too cold for ants on my last trip, but not for enjoying the treetops. On my trips with clients Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 