Roads End Naturalist

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


Category: Uncategorized

  • The Difference a Week Makes

    Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain. ~Henry David Thoreau Last week I shared some images of the some of the little things that are so fascinating in a big landscape like Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Read more…

  • The Little Things

    Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. ~Robert Brault I just returned from two hot days down at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. I am looking at some interpretive possibilities for the region as part of the NCLOW project to enhance ecotourism potential in Read more…

  • A Day in the Field

    A rainy day in the field is better than a sunny day in the office. ~Anonymous Well, it didn’t rain, it was sunny, and I no longer have an office….but, it was a good day, in spite of the heat. I am working on a trails enhancement project with NCLOW on the Scuppernong region of Read more…

  • Creating a Sense of Wonder at Pocosin Arts

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    If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later Read more…

  • A Month for Songs

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    The air is like a butterfly With frail blue wings. The happy earth looks at the sky And sings. ~Joyce Kilmer, Spring Sipping my coffee with the cool air coming in the window before sunrise this morning, I can hear the first songs of the new day – a northern cardinal, a late spring peeper, Read more…

  • The Procession

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    Come with me into the woods where spring is advancing, as it does, no matter what, not being singular or particular, but one of the forever gifts, and certainly visible. ~Mary Oliver I have been busy these past couple of weeks, busier than I like, especially for this time of year. It is the time Read more…

  • Swan Song

    The Earth has music for those who listen ~George Santayana Over the years, I have been privileged to lead thousands of people to some incredible natural areas in our state and beyond. We often take time to reflect on our experiences and I have seen and heard some wonderful stories about how a place or Read more…

  • Meandering at Mattamuskeet

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    By thus coordinating the management of the refuge with the natural cycles of plant and animal life, the Fish and Wildlife Service has developed Mattamuskeet to the point where it now supports much larger flocks of waterfowl than came to this refuge in former years. ~Rachel Carson, on a discussion of managing the lake for Read more…

  • After the Ice Storm

    I was able to get out of the neighborhood to head to Pungo for a tour tomorrow. The roads are still icy, but the 4wd had no problem. Melissa wandered the yard after I left and sent a poem she wrote after seeing so many tracks. It makes a nice addition to the blog. I Read more…

  • West Coast

    Things have been quiet on the blog as I have been on an 11 day trip to the coast of California (end it turns out there was almost no cell service in most of the places I visited).    This was the sunset last night on the way back to San Francisco for the flight home Read more…