Roads End Naturalist

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

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  • Grass, Bottlebrush, Candelabra, Pine?

    Here’s to the land of the longleaf pine, The summer land where the sun doth shine, Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here’s to “Down Home,” the Old North State. ~North Carolina State Toast In my last post, I talked about some of the amazing, small plants that grow beneath the… Read more

    Written by

    Melissa Dowland

  • The Most Wonderful Plant in the World

    “This plant, commonly called Venus’ fly-trap, from the rapidity and force of its movements, is one of the most wonderful in the world” and “is one of the most beautifully adapted plants in the vegetable kingdom.” ~Charles Darwin One of the tree species Mike didn’t include on his recent tree bark quiz, probably because it’s… Read more

    Written by

    Melissa Dowland

  • Changing Weather

    Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin We have had a variety of “good weather” lately, including a brief return to winter white yesterday morning. It had been predicted for several days,… Read more

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Party Surprise

    I put 100 hickory nuts on my bureau at dusk one fall evening…by midnight, she had stored them all. At midnight…counted another 100 hickory nuts and spread them. The next morning, every nut was gone. She had picked up and stored 200 in one night. ~John Terres, on how many nuts his captive flying squirrel… Read more

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Barking Up the Right Tree – Part 2

    Here are the answers to yesterday’s tree trunk quiz. How did you do? One of the largest trees in Eastern North America. The white, mottled upper trunks and branches make it one of the most recognizable of our trees, especially in winter. I have always called this distinctive tree, ironwood, due to its dense, hard… Read more

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Barking up the Right Tree

    Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. ~Hal Borland Melissa and I try to test each other as we walk any trail this time of year with a tree trunk quiz – we try to identify trees by just looking at the trunk at eye level…no fair looking up, unless we are stumped.  I… Read more

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Green in the Winter Woods

    “And Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” Genesis 3:20 With Mike back at work, I’m going to try to contribute to the blog occasionally. I came upon the perfect topic while out on a “field day” with a coworker, Megan, last week. One of the things I never fail to… Read more

    Written by

    Melissa Dowland

  • Birds in the Garden

    Poor indeed is the garden in which birds find no homes. ~ Abram L. Urban This garden (NC Botanical Garden) is anything but poor if the birds are any indication. Bird activity seems to have increased dramatically the past few weeks. Many seem to be thinking of the coming nesting season…bluebirds singing from atop nest… Read more

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • New Beginnings

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    Native plants give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours. ~Lady Bird Johnson You may have noticed a slight reduction in the number of posts the last few weeks. A major reason is that I have been busy with a new chapter in my life, a new adventure. It… Read more

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Joy in Parting

    What Joy Can There Be In Parting? ~A poem by Melissa Dowland; images by Mike Dunn The bluebird perched on the branch right in front of me. I could see his sharp beak, his rusty breast, his snow-white belly. Then he turned And became a dazzle of blue as he flew between the trees and… Read more

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

Roads End Naturalist

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

Copyright Mike Dunn and Melissa Dowland