Roads End Naturalist

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


Tag: chatham county

  • Living in the Wet Woods

    Nana always said the rain was nature’s way of adding sparkle to the outdoors. ~Mehmet Murat Ildan Surely the woods are sparkling now after what seems like weeks of rain. We actually have had some occasional nice weather, but the past few days have been soakers. Our clay soils have added some slickness to our Read more…

  • A Week in Winter

    If one could take the cover off the ground in the fields and woods in winter, or have some magic ointment put upon his eyes that would enable him to see through opaque substances, how many curious and interesting forms of life he would behold in the ground beneath his feet as he took his Read more…

  • Air Traffic Uncontrolled

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    A song is like a picture of a bird in flight; the bird was moving before the picture was taken, and no doubt continued after. ~Pete Seeger The Evening Grosbeaks continue to delight us by devouring sunflower seeds every morning in a feeding frenzy of yellow, black and white. My high count was one day Read more…

  • Wildlife Neighbors

    There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story. ~Linda Hogan I recently bought another trail camera and have been putting them out in our woods the past few weeks trying to document who shares our Read more…

  • Winter Walks

    Go to the winter woods: listen there, look, watch, and “the dead months” will give you a subtler secret than any you have yet found in the forest. ~William Sharp Our two trail cameras have given me a new excuse to walk in our woods every couple of days (to retrieve images) and it has Read more…

  • October Surprises

    The surprise is that you continue to be surprised. ~Jill A. Davis I interrupt the truck camping travelogue posts to bring you some current yard sightings. We have been gone quite a bit the past couple of months so the “yard” has taken on more of a jungle look. On Friday, I started some long Read more…

  • Caterpillars and Such

    When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and, like a dream, glides away. ~Sarah Helen Whitman Though the temperatures sure don’t seem like it, I’m seeing signs that Summer is coming to a close and Fall is just around the corner. The butterflies that so many thought had forsaken us this year are now Read more…

  • Long-tailed Skipper

    Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne Went wandering in the yard this weekend and I caught a glimpse of an infrequent visitor to these parts – a Long-tailed Skipper, Urbanus proteus. Long-tailed Skippers are Read more…

  • 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…

  • Walking Small, Part 2

    Look slowly and hard at something subtle and small. ~Philip Pearlstein Some more finds while wandering in the heat in our yard jungle. The first one was a challenge. I noticed missing leaves at the tip of a Virginia Creeper vine (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). Only the curved stems of the leaves remained. I looked closely, and Read more…