Roads End Naturalist

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


Category: Uncategorized

  • Woods Wandering

    Forests are places where we can get back in touch with our inner selves, where we can walk on soft ground, breathe in natural cents, taste berries, listen to the leaves crackling – all the senses are awakened in the subdued light… ~Pierre Lieutaghi I decided to wander away from the house one morning and Read more…

  • Flower Parts: The Iris’ Have It

    In the Spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin’s breast;In the Spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another crest; In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish’d dove;In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson I’ve been meaning to take a look at this Read more…

  • Naming Nature Part 2

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    Here is the answer to yesterday’s quiz along with things to note as you make your observations. The snake is a Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata). It is a small snake with adults ranging up to about 12 inches in length. They are fairly common, but somewhat secretive, in wooded areas and edges of old fields. Read more…

  • Plant Parts Part 3: Wild Columbine

    Ephemeral Delicate, perfumed phlox;A mist of columbine, clinging to earth;Phoebe’s gravelly voice,Titmouse — tender, sweet;A dogwood cloud hover aboveVibrant, fresh leaves. FleetingFalling flowers, already spent;A garden, no longer my own. A spring, a garden, will come again;At home in the hope, the beauty. Bittersweetand fast-fading. Always returning! Mike has shared some of my poetry on Read more…

  • Whether you want to or not… Parts of a Flower

    When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. I want them to see it whether they want to or not. ~Georgia O’Keeffe So far this spring, I’ve had to cancel workshops that I was planning Read more…

    backlit close up of wood poppy ovary showing ovules
  • Alien Life Form Answer

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    There were a lot of interesting guesses and a couple of what I believe to be correct answers. I will preface this post with the disclaimer that I am certainly no expert on fungi (or anything else, for that matter) , but here is what I think our mystery photo is… I thought it was Read more…

  • Cherry Tree Mystery

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    He who finds a thought that lets us penetrate even a little deeper into the eternal mystery of nature has been granted great peace. ~Albert Einstein Melissa and I have been talking about how we can help students and teachers during this time of online learning so I want to try to do some different Read more…

  • Wherever I Go, I End Up At Pungo

    Every place is given its character by certain patterns of events that keep on happening there… ~Christopher Alexander On Day 3, my last day of this coastal adventure, I drove down Hwy 12 to Pea Island NWR. But, as I had feared, the predicted winds were also there, blasting 15-25 mph with sand piling up Read more…

  • Cruising the Coastal Plain

    Never stop wandering into wonder. ~Suzy Kassem Day two of my wanderings started at sunrise at Marsh A in the Pungo Unit, watching the swans’ world awaken. There were two other cars enjoying the start of the day as hundreds of swans started to stir. When the orange backdrop faded to white light, I drove Read more…

  • First in Flight

    Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly? ~Frida Kahlo I think I can answer that after spending an afternoon watching my favorite winter resident, the tundra swans, at the Pungo Unit this past weekend. It turns out, if you are one of North America’s largest waterfowl (weighing in at Read more…