My Back Yard & Beyond

Garden critters

2010-07-03T14:15:00.004-04:00

Open letter to Silk Soy Milk and the White Wave Company:

2010-05-16T22:31:00.003-04:00

I had been wondering what was up with my latest carton of Vanilla Silk, which tastes funny. Cloying! Not good AT ALL. So from your Web site I learn that indeed, you have gone and changed the recipe. "The taste you love is more lovable than ever. We've reformulated our most popular Silk flavors, Original and Vanilla, so they now taste better than ever." Why do you think they're so damn popular?! Did we learn nothing from the New Coke fiasco?

I have been drinking Vanilla Silk with my cereal EVERY morning for as long as I can remember. Looks like I've gotta find a new breakfast companion. How truly disappointing.

(Not to mention that sleight-of-hand with the new "all natural" label instead of "organic"—to account for your new nonorganic main ingredient. What's next? High fructose corn syrup? I expected more from you!)

Entomology

2010-05-09T13:42:00.002-04:00

Spider on dad's tomato plant. Doing its job.

Dead beetle. But shiny and somehow beautiful.

Daubenton's bat on the hunt

2010-04-07T20:59:00.004-04:00

Amazing BBC video of the Daubenton's bat hunting insects. So cool how it scoops up prey with its tail membrane.

How would "clean coal" help miners working in horrific conditions?

2010-04-06T16:15:00.007-04:00

The death of 25 workers in a West Virginia coal mine, owned by a company fined for repeated severe safety violations, is yet another reason why "carbon capture and storage" technology (aka "clean coal"), even if it existed, would "solve" only a fraction of the nightmares associated with our addiction to coal. It would have no impact at all on the dangers caused by extraction of raw material—including miner fatalities, sludge disposal, destruction of mountaintops and water pollution.

Park Seed files Chapter 11

2010-04-05T13:33:00.002-04:00

Fifty percent of the seed sales in the world are rung up by Monsanto and Dupont. How long will it be before Monsanto has all of the world's seeds in its dirty, greedy pockets?

I received this press release from Park Seed/J&P today:

On Friday, April 2, 2010, the Geo. W. Park Seed Company, Inc., Park Seed Wholesale Company, and the Jackson & Perkins Company voluntarily filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of South Carolina. Customers should not be affected by the filing. Park Seed/J&P’s Greenwood, SC, business office, Garden Center, Call Center, and websites are open and functioning normally. Shipping and receiving areas are continuing their daily operations, delivering products to gardeners around the country as their hardiness zones open for the Spring.

According to a company spokesperson, “The horticulture industry is challenging and highly seasonal in the best of times. As the general economic situation declined starting in 2008, demand for luxury, non-essential purchases dropped sharply. All of our brands experienced significant decreases in sales for core products, including roses, perennials, and garden-inspired gifts. This created cash-flow issues that worsened with each passing season. Despite deep cost-cutting and numerous attempts to execute supplier payment programs on our own, we simply could not meet our short- and long-term operating cash requirements. Seeking court protection and restructuring is clearly our best option for returning to a position where we can focus on delighting our customers and resuming sound relationships with our supply chain partners.”

The companies are currently functioning as a “debtor in possession,” under the leadership of a court-appointed Trustee. The companies have 120 days following the filing to prepare a plan that contains a new capital structure for the company and that treats all creditors equitably. The Park Seed Company/Jackson and Perkins management team is confident that this experience will ultimately strengthen the business and lead to long-term success.

# # #

The Geo. W. Park Seed Company, Inc. (ParkSeed.com) has been providing innovative, top-quality gardening products to generations of American gardeners since 1868.

Founded in 1872, Jackson & Perkins is America’s premier name in roses and garden-inspired gifts (JacksonandPerkins.com).

Park Seed Wholesale has everything needed to run a small to medium-sized greenhouse, nursery, or growing operation. Since 1870, Park Seed Wholesale (ParkSeedWholesale.com) has been known for delivering world-class products with downhome, friendly service.

More bloodroots

2010-03-30T23:21:00.002-04:00

Bat killers sentenced

2010-03-30T23:02:00.005-04:00

Tonight I went out to discover that another bat has rejoined the first. It is so comforting to shine the light up into the bathouse and see them resting safely, side by side. I guess you can call me sentimental, but I have very tender and protective feelings about the bats that have found refuge in our bathouse.

I was pleased to learn that at least one of the two men who slaughtered 105 Indiana bats (this species has been on the Endangered Species List since its inception) in a Kentucky cave in 2007 received a jail sentence of eight months. In case you decide to read about the case, I should warn that the details are graphic. It's heartbreaking but also heartening that at least the perpetrators were prosecuted successfully.

Oakleaf hydrangea, 'Little Honey'

2010-03-30T22:57:00.001-04:00

New leaves unfurling.

Species tulip

2010-03-30T22:53:00.001-04:00

Blooming today: toad trillium

2010-03-25T22:31:00.000-04:00

Trillium cuneatum

Mmm, I can't wait.

2010-03-22T08:15:00.000-04:00

Photo: Happy Cat Organics

You didn't really want to read the sign anyway, did ya?

2010-03-21T18:08:00.002-04:00

Tulip magnolias trump historical markers.

Happy 77, Mom!

2010-03-19T13:03:00.004-04:00

Gave Mom a pot of sweet alyssum for her birthday. Also a set of ergonomic garden tools. She turns 77 today.

Smooth earth snake or rough earth snake?

2010-03-18T19:38:00.006-04:00

I see one or the other in the garden frequently. This one was under a clay pot I moved yesterday. I've never been able to tell a rough earth snake (Virginia striatulata) from a smooth earth snake (Virginia valeriae). The field guide descriptions are so similar. This one certainly felt smooth. However, according to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia, the rough earth snake often has "a pale band across the top of the head." It certainly seems like this one does (click image to zoom). I could ask one of my herp friends but I like to try to figure things out on my own first.

The field guide also says, "The smooth earth snake differs from the closely related rough earth snake by having usually smooth dorsal scales in 15 rows throughout the length of the body as opposed to keeled scales in 17 rows." Do tell! I'll have to count them next time. ;-)

Update: After looking at the definition of "keeled scales" I feel comfortable pronouncing this specimen a rough earth snake.

March 17 garden

2010-03-17T15:04:00.005-04:00

Apparently this newspaper blew out of the recycling bin and into the garden. Is someone trying to tell me something?

Red buckeye, Aesculus pavia, second year flowering.

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis

Somebody please, tie my hands and steal my wallet

2010-03-16T19:47:00.002-04:00

I can no longer be trusted anywhere near a seed rack or seed catalog. I don't know when to say when.

Fun with letters

2010-03-14T09:00:00.002-04:00

Farmers Market, March 13th

2010-03-14T09:00:00.001-04:00

Limeade from my favorite stand. Mmmm.

You might be a gardening geek, if ...

2010-03-13T13:56:00.008-05:00

The Seed Edition.
My favorite is:

"You open any “junk” drawer in your house and find one or two or bunches of seed packets. Bonus points if you can look around where you are right now reading this post and see at least one seed packet."

May Dreams Gardens has got my number!

Houston, we have guano!

2010-03-12T19:15:00.003-05:00

For a week now, I've been checking the white towel I put on the ground beneath the bathouse. Today I saw guano! I just went outside (7:15 p.m.) and shone the flashlight up into the house to confirm occupation. "My" bat is back! Added to historical data:

First occupation of the season
2010: March 12
2009: March 7
2008: April 12
2007: June 15 (house erected April 12)

I like to note which chambers the bat(s) occupy through the season. As is typical, the bat is now in the chamber closest to the house wall (south-facing brick wall, lots of radiant heat). There are four chambers total. When the weather starts to warm, I've observed the bat(s) shifting to the second or third chamber. My house is large enough to accommodate a nursery colony but it hasn't happened yet. :-( I think what I have every year is a bachelor bat. One year there were two bats for a brief time, but other than that I have Mr. Solo. I'll take what I can get.

Baby fruit bats

2010-03-11T19:07:00.003-05:00

I am suffering from serious awwwww overload.

Explanation here and here.

It's a tomato! It's a carnival ride! It's both!

2010-03-11T00:11:00.000-05:00

This groovy image is one of many that gardener and tomato guru Craig LeHoullier has scanned from vintage seed catalogs. Some lovely color covers in there too.

If you love tomatoes—I mean all kinds of tomatoes—you might dig Craig's Web site and blog. He is the co-host of Tomatopalooza, an heirloom tomato-tasting held in Raleigh, N.C., each July. I went in 2005 and can't believe I haven't made it back since. The date's not set yet for this year—watch Craig's blog for updates!

Welcome, spring 2010

2010-03-10T12:11:00.005-05:00

Mahonia

Crocus

Sedum

Viola

LOLsquirrel

2009-08-10T23:42:00.002-04:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Practical garden folk art?

2009-08-04T17:44:00.000-04:00

see more Fail Blog

House wrens, brood two

2009-07-10T20:17:00.003-04:00

These photos were taken Monday. For scale, that remaining egg is just slightly larger than one of those teeny gourmet jelly beans.

My first-ever hummingbird photo

2009-07-09T22:09:00.003-04:00

Took this photo of a ruby-throated hummingbird a few weeks ago while visiting my in-laws in Ashe County, N.C.

Homegrown harvest

2009-06-16T21:15:00.003-04:00

Left to right: Beet tops, chard, carrots ('Purple Haze'), yellow-stemmed and red-stemmed chard, eggplant ('Hansel')

Bye, bye birdies

2009-06-05T15:35:00.003-04:00

Last day in the nest box. Come out, come out, says Mom.

Brown thrasher on nest

2009-05-31T01:39:00.004-04:00

Look closely (click on image) and you'll see her/him giving me the evil eye. The male and female share the responsibility of brooding. I can't tell them apart. This nest is positioned in a tangle of crossvine. First egg was laid May 17. There are four in all. Incubation is reportedly 11-14 days. I feel something will happen soon!

Entomology one-oh-one

2009-05-31T01:32:00.003-04:00

house wren with earwig

house wren with spider

Name that worm?

2009-05-29T20:51:00.006-04:00

I went out this evening to watch the house wrens taking food to their young in the bluebird box. Would've gotten better photos earlier in the day but it was too bleeping hot. I was more interested in identifying prey than in getting glamour shots, but the lighting was too poor to get sharp focus necessary for positive ID.

Orange crush

2009-05-25T19:08:00.005-04:00

Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Blanket flower (Gaillardia)

Hypericum 'Albury Purple'

Marigolds

Almost blueberry season

2009-05-22T01:26:00.000-04:00

Mother bluebird

2009-05-22T01:11:00.005-04:00

A predator to be reckoned with. (Click to enlarge.)

Catalpa tree

2009-05-22T01:08:00.002-04:00

at abandoned homestead, ivanhoe n.c.

Rust

2009-05-22T01:05:00.001-04:00

Poppy + rain

2009-05-09T02:38:00.001-04:00

I can relate, little guy

2009-05-05T16:31:00.003-04:00

Got attacked by the prickly pear cactus yesterday. I still have stickies in my fingers.

Rouge

2009-05-04T23:25:00.007-04:00

Coral honeysuckle (this is the North American native—Lonicera sempervirens)

Opium poppy. Hard to get a good shot of it because the petals were already droopy.

Spirea. It was a passalong without a name, but it looks like 'Magic Carpet'.

More blues and purples

2009-05-04T23:14:00.005-04:00

Love-in-a-mist

Unscented heliotrope. Weedy but pretty.

Perennial verbena and variegated liriope

Sunday dinner

2009-05-03T20:42:00.004-04:00

Recipe
Ingredients:
• strawberries from roadside stand
• Hershey's Magic Shell
• whipped cream
• spatula

Directions:
• Combine all items (except spatula) in a bowl.
• Eat.
• Clean bowl with spatula. Clean spatula with tongue.

Before

After

Blues and purples

2009-05-02T23:38:00.005-04:00

Bearded iris, unknown cultivar

Blue flag iris

Siberian iris

Clematis vine. Shouldn't every flower have its own bunny companion?

First poppies

2009-04-30T21:46:00.005-04:00

First mosquito bite today. Drat. I thought it was way early, but I checked my notes and last year it was May 3. Missed it by a couple of days.

House wren in bluebird box

2009-04-26T13:20:00.005-04:00

Nest construction began April 21. Saw my first hummingbird that day also. It was nectaring at the coral honeysuckle. First year it has bloomed!

In with a twig

Time to find more

Before the rain

2009-03-28T15:38:00.007-04:00

Hellebore

Columbine leaves unfurling

Hellebore seedpods. Reminds me of some kind of carnivorous plant, eating a dead leaf (OK, I confess—I staged it).

Bloodroot. I'm obsessed with stamens.

Purple dead-nettle. Beautiful, but greedy, weed.

Toad trillium. Got a bunch of these on a plant rescue.

Species tulip

2009-03-20T18:13:00.000-04:00

Redbud

2009-03-19T23:47:00.001-04:00

Pear blossoms

2009-03-18T22:43:00.001-04:00

Taraxacum officinale

2009-03-17T23:34:00.013-04:00

Simple and fresh and fair from winter's close emerging,
As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics, had ever been,
Forth from its sunny nook of shelter'd grass--innocent, golden, calm as the dawn,
The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face.

—Walt Whitman

Up and out, in the yard

2009-03-15T15:16:00.012-04:00

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
March 9, 2009

Trout lily (Erythronium americanum)
March 10, 2009

Narcissus 'Tet a Tete'
February 27, 2009

"Ugly camellia"
March 2, 2009

Go team!

2009-03-10T00:35:00.000-04:00

Things you might not know about Darwin

2009-02-25T20:09:00.005-05:00

The man loved earthworms. A few years back I was reading some natural history book (I can't remember the name of it), and the author made reference to Darwin's acute interest in the behavior of earthworms and their incredibly beneficial role in nature. What stuck in my mind was the author's description of an elaborate experiment in which Darwin systematically placed paper triangles on the ground and carefully observed the manner in which earthworms pulled them into their burrows. I don't know why, but I pictured him in a dressing gown and nightcap, standing in his yard in the middle of the night holding a lantern.

By observing how the worms interacted with the paper, he concluded that they pull leaves and other organic debris into their burrows methodically, "learning" the most efficient way to grasp an object to pull it into the hole. This and other studies were detailed in The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Actions of Worms, with Observations on Their Habits, published in 1881. I later found the book at the library, and I must admit I didn't finish it before the due date. It was one of those books you don't read in one sitting. (Not necessarily long, just dense.) So I was pleased to run across the entire text of the book online the other day at a Web site that contains the complete published works of Charles Darwin.

One of my favorite passages is on the subject of the "mental qualities" of earthworms:

"We have seen that worms are timid. It may be doubted whether they suffer as much pain when injured, as they seem to express by their contortions. Judging by their eagerness for certain kinds of food, they must enjoy the pleasure of eating. Their sexual passion is strong enough to overcome for a time their dread of light. They perhaps have a trace of social feeling, for they are not disturbed by crawling over each other's bodies, and they sometimes lie in contact."

(By the way, the earthworms in the photo above are doing more than lying in contact.)

Another interesting supposition Darwin makes is that earthworms may be "smarter" than ants (and possibly much higher animals, as he mentions elsewhere):

"As worms are not guided by special instincts in each particular case, though possessing a general instinct to plug up their burrows, and as chance is excluded, the next most probable conclusion seems to be that they try in many different ways to draw in objects, and at last succeed in some one way. But it is surprising that an animal so low in the scale as a worm should have the capacity for acting in this manner, as many higher animals have no such capacity. For instance, ants may be seen vainly trying to drag an object transversely to their course, which could be easily drawn longitudinally; though after a time they generally act in a wiser manner ... "

Lest you ever doubt Darwin's infinite patience and slavish attention to detail, here are some data from the above-referenced "paper triangle" experiment:

"Elongated triangles were cut out of moderately stiff writing-paper, which was rubbed with raw fat on both sides, so as to prevent their becoming excessively limp when exposed at night to rain and dew. The sides of all the triangles were three inches in length, with the bases of 120 one inch, and of the other 183 half an inch in length. These latter triangles were very narrow or much acuminated. {32} As a check on the observations presently to be given, similar triangles in a damp state were seized by a very narrow pair of pincers at different points and at all inclinations with reference to the margins, and were then drawn into a short tube of the diameter of a worm-burrow. If seized by the apex, the triangle was drawn straight into the tube, with its margins infolded; if seized at some little distance from the apex, for instance at half an inch, this much was doubled back within the tube. So it was with the base and basal angles, though in this case the triangles offered, as might have been expected, much more resistance to being drawn in. If seized near the middle the triangle was doubled up, with the apex and base left sticking out of the tube. As the sides of the triangles were three inches in length, the result of their being drawn into a tube or into a burrow in different ways, may be conveniently divided into three groups: those drawn in by the apex or within an inch of it; those drawn in by the base or within an inch of it; and those drawn in by any point in the middle inch.

In order to see how the triangles would be seized by worms, some in a damp state were given to worms kept in confinement. They were seized in three different manners in the case of both the narrow and broad triangles: viz., by the margin; by one of the three angles, which was often completely engulfed in their mouths; and lastly, by suction applied to any part of the flat surface. If lines parallel to the base and an inch apart, are drawn across a triangle with the sides three inches in length, it will be divided into three parts of equal length. Now if worms seized indifferently by chance any part, they would assuredly seize on the basal part or division far oftener than on either of the two other divisions. For the area of the basal to the apical part is as 5 to 1, so that the chance of the former being drawn into a burrow by suction, will be as 5 to 1, compared with the apical part. The base offers two angles and the apex only one, so that the former would have twice as good a chance (independently of the size of the angles) of being engulfed in a worm's mouth, as would the apex. It should, however, be stated that the apical angle is not often seized by worms; the margin at a little distance on either side being preferred. I judge of this from having found in 40 out of 46 cases in which triangles had been drawn into burrows by their apical ends, that the tip had been doubled back within the burrow for a length of between 1/20 of an inch and 1 inch. Lastly, the proportion between the margins of the basal and apical parts is as 3 to 2 for the broad, and 2.5 to 2 for the narrow triangles. From these several considerations it might certainly have been expected, supposing that worms seized hold of the triangles by chance, that a considerably larger proportion would have been dragged into the burrows by the basal than by the apical part; but we shall immediately see how different was the result.

Triangles of the above specified sizes were scattered on the ground in many places and on many successive nights near worm-burrows, from which the leaves, petioles, twigs, &c., with which they had been plugged, were removed. Altogether 303 triangles were drawn by worms into their burrows: 12 others were drawn in by both ends, but as it was impossible to judge by which end they had been first seized, these are excluded. Of the 303, 62 per cent. had been drawn in by the apex (using this term for all drawn in by the apical part, one inch in length); 15 per cent. by the middle; and 23 per cent. by the basal part. If they had been drawn indifferently by any point, the proportion for the apical, middle and basal parts would have been 33.3 per cent. for each; but, as we have just seen, it might have been expected that a much larger proportion would have been drawn in by the basal than by any other part. As the case stands, nearly three times as many were drawn in by the apex as by the base. If we consider the broad triangles by themselves, 59 per cent. were drawn in by the apex, 25 per cent. by the middle, and 16 per cent. by the base. Of the narrow triangles, 65 per cent. were drawn in by the apex, 14 per cent, by the middle, and 21 per cent. by the base; so that here those drawn in by the apex were more than 3 times as many as those drawn in by the base. We may therefore conclude that the manner in which the triangles are drawn into the burrows is not a matter of chance.

In eight cases, two triangles had been drawn into the same burrow, and in seven of these cases, one had been drawn in by the apex and the other by the base. This again indicates that the result is not determined by chance. Worms appear sometimes to revolve in the act of drawing in the triangles, for five out of the whole lot had been wound into an irregular spire round the inside of the burrow. Worms kept in a warm room drew 63 triangles into their burrows; but, as in the case of the pine-leaves, they worked in a rather careless manner, for only 44 per cent. were drawn in by the apex, 22 per cent. by the middle, and 33 per cent. by the base. In five cases, two triangles were drawn into the same burrow.

It may be suggested with much apparent probability that so large a proportion of the triangles were drawn in by the apex, not from the worms having selected this end as the most convenient for the purpose, but from having first tried in other ways and failed. This notion was countenanced by the manner in which worms in confinement were seen to drag about and drop the triangles; but then they were working carelessly. I did not at first perceive the importance of this subject, but merely noticed that the bases of those triangles which had been drawn in by the apex, were generally clean and not crumpled. The subject was afterwards attended to carefully. In the first place several triangles which had been drawn in by the basal angles, or by the base, or a little above the base, and which were thus much crumpled and dirtied, were left for some hours in water and were then well shaken while immersed; but neither the dirt nor the creases were thus removed. Only slight creases could be obliterated, even by pulling the wet triangles several times through my fingers. Owing to the slime from the worms' bodies, the dirt was not easily washed off. We may therefore conclude that if a triangle, before being dragged in by the apex, had been dragged into a burrow by its base with even a slight degree of force, the basal part would long retain its creases and remain dirty. The condition of 89 triangles (65 narrow and 24 broad ones), which had been drawn in by the apex, was observed; and the bases of only 7 of them were at all creased, being at the same time generally dirty. Of the 82 uncreased triangles, 14 were dirty at the base; but it does not follow from this fact that these had first been dragged towards the burrows by their bases; for the worms sometimes covered large portions of the triangles with slime, and these when dragged by the apex over the ground would be dirtied; and during rainy weather, the triangles were often dirtied over one whole side or over both sides. If the worms had dragged the triangles to the mouths of their burrows by their bases, as often as by their apices, and had then perceived, without actually trying to draw them into the burrow, that the broader end was not well adapted for this purpose--even in this case a large proportion would probably have had their basal ends dirtied. We may therefore infer--improbable as is the inference-- that worms are able by some means to judge which is the best end by which to draw triangles of paper into their burrows."

If you are a fan of earthworms and the scientific method, you may be compelled to read more. It's not all paper triangles. I promise. I just included this part because it's so damn nutty.

Pig cravings

2009-02-20T16:24:00.002-05:00

I have always wanted a pet pig. Not one of those anemic pot-bellied things, but a full-fledged, full-fleshed oinker. But after reading "The Good Good Pig" by Sy Montgomery, I'm having second thoughts. Not because her runt-made-good Christopher Hogwood wasn't impossibly lovable (even when he grew to 700 pounds), but because of my conclusion: It takes a village to raise a pig. A community full of people who, with good nature, will guide the pig back home when it inevitably manages to escape. One in which a local could be counted on in a pinch to tend it when you had to be away.

It would be additional icing on the cake if where we lived was like Montgomery's rural town in New Hampshire, where everyone, including the preacher, firemen, restaurateurs, neighbors and their children voluntarily and enthusiastically saved up a wide variety of delicious leftover morsels (pork-free, of course) to share with my four-hoofed family member. And more the better if kids from miles around, as in the case of Christopher, begged to come over for "Pig Spa," wherein we would lather up the beastie, brush its tail, scratch its belly and anoint its skin with emollients.

Finally, it would be a cosmically lucky pig-lover indeed whose friends and neighbors would share in the grief, as did Montgomery's, when the pig passed over into the next world. When Chris died at age 14, these lovely people called, wrote, sent flowers, brought food and held her hands, and declared that they felt richer for having been a part of Christopher's life.

One day, when/if we move out of the city, I will reconsider. A longing is a difficult thing to suppress.

Taps

2009-02-17T22:33:00.006-05:00

Today we stood graveside at the funeral of my Dad's first cousin, a WWII veteran who served in the European Theatre. After the volley of gunfire, we listened to the sweet, mournful sound of Taps. Daily, the families of hundreds of veterans hear it played for their departed loved ones. More frequently, they may be hearing recorded notes—emerging from a boombox or a little speaker tucked away slyly in the player's horn.

Pre-recorded Taps has become a necessity as the demand has increased and the supply of performers has diminished. Even for a talented musician, the tune is not easy to pull off flawlessly. "It sounds simple but it isn't," says military honors funeral coordinator Sgt. Seth Innes. "Sometimes the simplest songs take the most work." Add to that the desire to deliver a perfect performance for each and every veteran, and the pressure surely mounts. In that regard, a recorded version ensures quality control and may be no less appreciated (or perhaps even noticed) by the family. Still, one can't help but wish for purity.

We believed that the very-young man who played the trumpet today was authentic. There was a clear presence of emotion ... and longer-than-normal sustains at the end of each line. We looked at one another afterward and said, surely. Before leaving the cemetery, my aunt and I found him to offer our gratitude and compliments. Shyly, he said thanks.

* * * * * * *

Click here for an article about Taps trumpeter Sgt. Keston Marina and the "fading tradition," and here to view the Web site for Buglers Across America, which enlists volunteer buglers to lend their talents to honor fallen veterans. Says the organization: "The Department of Veterans Affairs is expecting more than 1/2 million veterans to pass every year for the next 7 years." So the need is great. "Bugler volunteers can be male or female. They can play a traditional bugle with no valves, or they can perform the ceremony on a trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, or a 1-, 2- or 3-valved bugle. The bugler can be of any age as long as they can play the 24 notes of Taps with an ease and style that will do honor to both the Veterans, their families, and the burial detail performing the service."

Woodcock Love

2009-02-15T19:34:00.010-05:00

We just returned from the annual Valentine's Day Woodcock Walk, postponed by a day due to weather. John Connors from the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and Wake Audubon has led this trip for 30 years now—a hike into the woods to see, but mostly hear, the bird's spring mating ritual. Though so many aspects of wildlife watching are unpredictable, the male woodcock's display is rather like clockwork—between 6 and 6:30 p.m. (around these parts), from mid-February to early March. The male issues his repetitive nasal "peeent" sound while on the ground, soon thereafter takes to the sky on whistling wings, then warbles on his meteoric descent. Back on terra firma, he hopes to find an interested female in wait.

Before the show begins, Connors does his traditional reading from Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac (1949), excerpted here:

"The stage props, like the opening hour, reflect the temperamental demands of the performer. The stage must be an open amphitheater in woods or brush, and in its center there must be a mossy spot, a streak of sterile sand, a bare outcrop of rock, or a bare roadway. Why the male woodcock should be such a stickler for a bare dance floor puzzled me at first, but I now think it is a matter of legs. The woodcock's legs are short, and his struttings cannot be executed to advantage in dense woods or weeds, nor could his lady see him there. ..."

"Knowing the place and hour, you seat yourself under a bush to the east of the dance floor and wait watching against the sunset for the woodcock's arrival. He flies in low from some neighboring thicket, alights on the bare moss, and at once begins the overture: a series of queer throaty peents spaced about two seconds apart, and sounding much like the sound of the nighthawk."

"Suddenly the peenting ceases and the bird flutters upward, emitting a musical twitter. Up and up he goes, the spirals steeper and smaller, the twittering louder and louder, until the performer is only a speck in the sky. Then, without warning, he tumbles like a crippled plane, giving voice in a soft liquid warble that a March bluebird might envy. At a few feet from the ground, he levels off and returns to the peenting ground, usually to the exact spot where the performance began, and there resumes his peenting."

"It is soon too dark to see the bird on the ground, but you can see his flights against the sky for an hour, which is the usual duration of the show. On moonlit nights, however, it may continue, at intervals, as long as the moon continues to shine."

It would be a thing indeed to photograph the flamboyant mating display of this otherwise reclusive bird. Exceptional vantage and light would be required, I daresay. You can check out Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology for a still shot of the bird.

Meanwhile, Ian took these photos as we walked.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

2009-02-12T18:40:00.001-05:00

Don't forget!

2009-02-05T20:05:00.000-05:00

No end in sight for Alaska's assault on wolves

2009-02-04T13:40:00.006-05:00

In response to Defenders of Wildlife's criticism of Alaska's draconian "predator control" program, Gov. Sarah Palin called the organization an "extreme fringe group." This is the conservation organization that the ultra-radical Reader's Digest named in its 2005 roundup of the 100 Best of America charities. While managers of the country's National Wildlife Refuges work to reintroduce endangered wolf species in selected areas, Palin is still mowing 'em down from helicopters and offering bounties for their carcasses. It's economic stimulus, Alaska style.

Must ... have .... this ... plant

2009-01-27T21:26:00.003-05:00

New from Renee's Garden Seeds: Neon Glow Rainbow Chard.

Goldfinches

2009-01-20T18:30:00.003-05:00

I think the one at top left is up to no good.
He reminds me a bit of Dick Cheney.

Snow-covered suet

2009-01-20T18:19:00.009-05:00

White-breasted nuthatch

Downy woodpecker

A significant snowfall

2009-01-20T18:10:00.004-05:00

Maybe 3-4 inches. A rare treat for central North Carolina. This female cardinal assesses the situation.

Bald eagles are killing us, I say. Killing us!

2009-01-16T15:52:00.003-05:00

Biologist Richard Dolbeer said of the bird-strike that precipitated yesterday's emergency landing of a commercial jet on the Hudson River:

"The root of the problem right now is that because of the very successful wildlife conservation programs in North America since the 1970s, we've seen a tremendous resurgence of many wildlife species, particularly large bird species -- species that weigh over 4 pounds, including Canada geese, snow geese, bald eagles, great blue herons, double-crested cormorants, turkey vultures and black vultures."

Wow, what's to be done? Bring back the market hunters?

Blue jay through the window

2009-01-04T18:02:00.004-05:00

When I woke up today, this blue jay was sitting in this little decorative bird feeder on a stake (Christmas present from my sis-in-law). I had put sunflower seed in it the other day. I swear the jay looked like it was brooding eggs, sitting there so still and quiet. And it was all puffed out and fat. Occasionally it would get up and eat some of the seeds, then it would sit down again. I took this photo through the dining room window. Something about its fluffy head makes me think of a baby penguin.

All the blue jays in the yard are so zen. They're not kicking up a ruckus, not even with a neighboring cat. Squirrel on the feeder? Not a squawk. Maybe because it's not breeding season? Any thoughts?

Nuthatch on dogwood

2009-01-03T16:51:00.003-05:00

They say pigs don't fly. But I think refilling a suet feeder is akin to hollering "Suuuuuu-weeeeeeee." It summons the little winged hogs every time. This one was awaiting its turn at the trough.

Coal sludge: clean and sparkly!

2008-12-30T06:56:00.003-05:00

The way the "clean coal" cheerleaders sis-boom-bah, you'd think emissions are the only thing about burning coal that is the least bit troublesome. They conveniently avoid discussing the impacts of extracting the (non-renewable) raw materials and post-combustion byproducts like toxic coal sludge, 5.4 million cubic yards of which escaped an 80-acre impoundment via a breached retaining wall last week in Kingston, Tennessee, flooding hundreds of acres of community land and waterways.

The National Research Council estimates that coal plants in America produce 129 million tons of post-combustion byproducts a year, the second-largest waste stream in the country, after municipal solid waste.

Hurray for clean coal!

Owl prowl

2008-12-28T14:58:00.007-05:00

I guess the owl Christmas card was an omen. Friday night, we were on an evening wildlife safari on the dirt roads in the woods on my parents' farm. My niece spotted this screech owl in a chinaberry tree. We were in a very loud pickup truck about 5 feet from the branch it was sitting on. We watched it through the driver's side window for about five minutes, then decided to drive back to the house and get our cameras.

When we returned, the owl was sitting in exactly the same spot. Even with the noise and with my niece and I snapping flash photos, it didn't budge. My brother even talked to it. After a few minutes of posing for its closeup, the owl flew to a branch about 5-6 feet higher in the tree. My brother thought the bird might be sick. Dad's guess was that it was young and inexperienced with nosy people in pickup trucks.

This photo is one that my niece took. Mine were terrible.

Old Christmas card

2008-12-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

A good one. Owls. Who doesn't love 'em? Mice, maybe.

From the archives

2008-12-24T00:05:00.000-05:00

Found this postcard among my "keepsakes."

Frequent surprises await the Blue Ridge Parkway traveler as deer and occasionally a bear pause to forage on the beautiful mountaintop highway. 1972.

Laotian rock rat

2008-12-17T23:41:00.003-05:00

Thought to have become extinct 11 million years ago, the Laotian rock rat is still among the world of the living, in Southeast Asia's Mekong, along with all kinds of other creatures unknown until recently. I love rodents, and this ratty-squirrelly combo is no exception. It's like a squirrel compromised and got a more conservative tail-do, and a rat decided to grow his out a little. The fur looks sooooo soft. I'd love to see one of these little guys dangling from my bird feeder. I'd be shooing the birds away.

Conservation International ranks this region among its top five "most threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world." Talk about your dubious distinctions. Click here to see a few cool photos, including a blindingly green snake and a crazy-hot-pink millipede.

Red-bellied woodpecker

2008-12-12T19:10:00.004-05:00

Just before this guy stopped by the suet feeder, a marauding squirrel made off with a mouthful. The squirrel was guilty, apparently, of leaving the cage door open.

Mourning dove on power line

2008-12-06T00:01:00.001-05:00

Tufted titmouse

2008-12-05T16:12:00.004-05:00

This was my first real attempt at birding with the new camera. It was late-day and my hands weren't steady. Plus, little birdies almost never sit still. Ideally, I'll try shooting with a tripod—some day when I can camp out long enough for them to ignore me and go about their business.

The day before yesterday I filled all the feeders for the first time in forever. I didn't feed at all last winter. That was a matter of economics. But now that I have the new camera, it's a must. I'll make it part of our "entertainment budget." I filled the hanging feeder pictured here with cardinal/songbird mix, one tray feeder with black oil sunflower, the finch feeder with black thistle, and I hung two suets. No one got wise to them yesterday, but today everybody found 'em. I saw:

Blue jay on suet (I expect the downy woodpeckers will find it soon)
Titmice and cardinals at hanging feeder
Towhee at tray feeder

Looking forward to more adventures in photography. Stay tuned!

Chasing unicorns and clean coal

2008-12-04T23:42:00.002-05:00

I heard Al Gore being interviewed on the radio today about my favorite topic: that fabled "clean coal" the industry would have us believe is already powering our salvation from global warming. The way you hear everyone prattling on about it all the time, you'd think it was more than a hypothetical.

So it was music to my ears when Al told NPR's Robert Siegel: "If it can be created, if it can be paid for, if it works, then wonderful. But let's don't pretend that it exists now. It does not."

Finally, I didn't have to stick my fingers in my ears upon hearing the words "clean coal" and say: La-la-la-la-la-la-la!

Then later tonight ... the Reality Coalition aired this ad on TV.

Even when it tastes bad, sometimes reality is just the tonic you need. Drink up, people!

Yellow-berried nandina

2008-12-03T19:33:00.002-05:00

Nandina domestica 'Leucocarpa'
Today, J.C. Raulston Arboretum

What are you looking at?

2008-12-01T00:09:00.004-05:00

I upgraded my camera last week and gave it a trial run while visiting The Farm for Thanksgiving. It has a great 20x zoom that allowed me to get closer to this gal than she would've liked otherwise.

I can just envision her saying, "Good day, sir. I said good DAY!"

One of these things is not like the other

2008-11-25T12:45:00.006-05:00

Remember that game where you have to circle the item in a sequence that doesn't belong?

These photos were taken in Utah—three of them are natural wonders in Canyonlands National Park. The odd man out is the row of oil derricks. As a parting blow from our Commander-in-Grief, 50,000 acres of oil leases near Canyonlands and Arches National Parks will go on the auction block Dec. 19.

"This is the fire sale, the Bush administration's last great gift to the oil and gas industry," said Stephen Bloch, a staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "The tracts of land offered here, next to Arches National Park or above Desolation Canyon, these are the crown jewels of America's lands that the BLM is offering to the highest bidder."

Thanks, Georgie!

**********************************
Mesa arch, Canyonlands National Park
Oil derricks in Utah
Pothole Point, Canyonlands National Park
Ancient Indian petroglyphs, Canyonlands National Park
Royalty-free photos taken from CNP's Web site

Keeping hope alive

2008-11-07T16:56:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure if there will be firm numbers on how many thousands of people volunteered for the recent political campaigns. But I believe it's safe to say that there was unprecedented involvement. As President-Elect Obama said in his victory speech Tuesday night, there is still work to do.

I predict that in the wake of this election, volunteerism will surge—among young people as well as older ones who had lost their faith. People longed for empowerment, and their efforts paid off.

No matter what issues are important to you—poverty, hunger, environmental protection, health care reform, youth mentoring, literacy, care of the aging, etc.—I think we've all learned that even an hour or two of one's time can be influential. Let us all resolve to contribute as much as we can afford. As the great fighter Muhammad Ali wisely said: "Service to others is the payment you make for your space here on earth."

Yes, we did.

2008-11-05T00:59:00.001-05:00

2008-11-04T11:11:00.003-05:00

Cactus

2008-11-03T13:23:00.002-05:00

Sunday was the annual fall cookout in our neighborhood. It was an unexpected but delightful surprise to be joined this year by the adorable Cactus. With grace and patience, he gave gentle rides to many of the kids. Cactus is owned by one of our neighbors, who keeps him at a remote location. I wish Cactus could live here! But alas, the city only allows dogs and cats in this part of town.

Paving over paradise

2008-10-30T18:17:00.006-04:00

Back in May, I wrote about an ongoing plant rescue taking place at the site of a future road extension project in Raleigh. Local conservationists and plant lovers were granted permission from city and state officials to dig and claim plants from the forested site—from diminutive spring wildflowers to larger shrubs and trees. Over a period of a few years, hundreds of people did just that. Tom Harville of the North Carolina Native Plant Society has compiled a list of at least 70 species of native plants that were collected. Tom took this photo of the site this week, where construction of the road is finally under way.

"I am saddened by this loss for many reasons, but I take a bit of solace in the fact that we did move thousands of native plants that would otherwise be gone," he says. "It also reinforces the idea that when we find a site like this, we should not procrastinate. If you know of a site that is going to be developed, let me know—please!" (You may contact Tom at tomhar@bellsouth.net.)

I'd like to use this forum to thank Tom for his tireless efforts throughout the project—for showing up mornings and afternoons to help us navigate the woods (in all seasons, rain or shine); for locating, identifying and pointing out specimens; for retrieving lost trowels, gloves and keys; and not least of all, for securing permission from the proper authorities and seamlessly coordinating the effort. He must be a real smooth talker to convince landowners that we're not all a bunch of loonies!

Black River, Sampson County, North Carolina

2008-10-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

This is where I grew up. I'm a little bit homesick.

Willow-leaved sunflower

2008-10-28T00:13:00.001-04:00

I took a quick snapshot of my perennial sunflowers before I went on vacation. I'd hoped to get a better photo when I returned, but most of them have flopped and gone to seed now. The willow-leaved sunflower, Helianthus salicifolius, is among several native perennial sunflowers that are, as garden author Peter Loewer puts it, “akin to many American originals: tough, rugged and, like the American skyscraper, tall and bold.”

The North Carolina Botanical Garden selected a cousin of the willow-leaved sunflower, the swamp sunflower (H. angustifolius), as the 2007 Wildflower of the Year, calling it “the giant exclamation point at the end of the growing season.” As its name suggests, swamp sunflower lives in the wild in swamps, marshes and savannas, but it will thrive in wet to average soil.

In exchange for a self-addressed stamped envelope, the Botanical Garden will give you free seeds of its Wildflower of the Year selections. The 2008 flower is white wood-aster. Send your request with SASE to: 2008 NCWFOY, North Carolina Botanical Garden, CB 3375 Totten Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3375. I don't know whether they still have any sunflower seed, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. You can e-mail them at ncbg@unc.edu.

Please press rewind

2008-10-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

Back to work today. Sigh.

Happy camper

2008-10-24T11:54:00.004-04:00

Husband. Flounder. 10/23/08. Lea Island, N.C.

Black skimmers ...

2008-10-23T20:53:00.005-04:00

... at the south end of Lea Island tonight before sunset. According to Audubon North Carolina, there are 50-75 breeding pairs of black skimmers here during nesting season, along with the greatest number of least terns on the North Carolina coast. As best I can tell from The Google, Audubon and cooperating conservation groups are in negotion to buy this private island. I kayaked along the marsh side today and explored the beach on foot. Found two nice whelk shells, a sand dollar and an olive for Mama. Paddled back toward the inlet late afternoon, against a healthy wind, and met up with my brother and husband, who were fishing at the inlet. Shortly after I beached the boat, Ian caught a nice flounder and my brother followed suit with a bluefish. After sunset, we headed back to the cottage in the skiff (with my kayak as a hood ornament). Choppy and cold. Wet pants. Wet sneakers. Daddy had homemade shrimp gumbo waiting. Perfect. Tomorrow's our last full day. Sad. But a high of 71 is forecast, so at least it should be a nice one. And we have all vowed not to let another five years pass before taking a weeklong vacation. What were we thinking?

The stuff I don't know

2008-10-22T22:08:00.005-04:00

Dad and I were on the little bike path again today and I saw two peculiar seed pods on a yucca plant I couldn't identify. They were eggplanty/brownish in color, sort of like a cucumber in shape, with three flat sides, about 5 inches in length. Of course, I stole one of them, brought it home and cut it into slices to see the insides. It smelled rank, and I didn't taste it, even though I have this bad habit of sampling wild plants. Once, I was on a field trip with a busload of naturalists. I saw a wildflower that had umbels, like something in the parsley family but not Queen Anne's lace. So I snapped a stem and touched the tip of my tongue to it. It did taste rather parsley-esque. Back on the bus, I raided the stash of field guides. The mystery plant was Conium maculatum: poison hemlock, which is said to cause respiratory collapse and death when consumed in any quantity. Yet I survived.

Before sunset I watched a heron in the marsh for a solid half hour through the scope. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting for it to strike a fish. I was going to give it 5 minutes, which turned into 10, and then 20. I felt that if the bird could wait, so could I. In a half hour it never moved a leg. First my neck started to hurt, then my shoulders, then my feet. And I was cold. And hungry. I gave up. Now here's the thing. You'd think as much time as I spent staring at that damn bird, I'd be able to identify it handily with a field guide. If I had to lay money, I'd say an adult little blue heron. But boy, do I feel ignorant.

Sitting on the table in front of me is a slab of a tri-color confection. I can quickly and easily identify it as Banana Split Fudge. Much tastier than poison hemlock. Decidedly less dangerous.

Postcards from the edge

2008-10-21T18:55:00.008-04:00

These are the steps leading to the beach at high tide. Crazy, huh? We like to live dangerously. What is this thing they call vacation? It seems familiar. Like maybe in another lifetime we were here.

Ian has caught two bluefish in the surf, one yesterday and a larger one today. We baked the one from yesterday and shared it among the four of us. It was maybe 12-14 inches long. We are light eaters. Hah. Today he caught the smallest flounder he'd ever seen, about the size of a sand dollar. Needless to say, he sent that little fella back to its home.

Dad and I rode the beach cruisers yesterday and today. There are few things that make you feel more like a child than riding a bike with coaster brakes. The first time I rode, I forgot to tie my laces and one got hung in the pedal axle. That was a blast from the past. Daddy has a few aches and pains but he is spry at 78. I think he gets more exercise than I do.

It has been warm (for the season) and sunny so far. Yesterday, the high was about 69. Before sunset I took a swim. Bracing! I tried again today but I seized up from the cold. Hightailed it right back out of there.

As for birding, I'm way out of my depth. All those gulls and terns and plovers and sandpipers just confuse the hell out of me. Winter and summer plumages, juveniles and adults, males and females. The sanderlings are well-known to me though. They are in winter plumage. Is it too soon for that? I guess it will be winter soon.

I sneezed all day today, though according to the weather channel the pollen count is low. Mama gave me a Zyrtec tablet but I think it must have been a sugar pill. Tomorrow will be cooler but still sunny. There is a public kayak launch three blocks away. I think I see a marsh outing in the near future.

(Daddy just looked over my shoulder and asked me what this was. I said it was my blog. He said, "What's a blog?" I said it's like a diary without a key. I told him he was in it. He said that was fine, that I could write anything about him that I wanted to. Hmmm. I will have to ask Mama to tell me a scandalous story from his past.)

Prize jams and jellies

2008-10-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

I'm on vacation this week, so I'll miss the annual State Fair. I found these photos I took of the food judging a few years ago. I had a "press pass" so I was allowed to come in and observe. Fifty judges put their taste buds to work sampling homemade canned vegetables, preserves, cakes, cookies, breads, pies, mincemeat, salsa, pickles, ketchup and other edibles in nearly 500 categories.

Culinary superintendent Charlotte Wyatt told me the staff keeps plenty of cold water, coffee, celery and saltines on hand to help judges cleanse their palates between bites. Sometimes the cake tasters will give a few of their leftovers to the "pickle people" and vice versa, "just to give them a little change in their taste," she says. Unfortunately, some foods aren't in their ideal state. "I admire the judges who judge a cold biscuit," said Wyatt, with a laugh. No exhibitors or other people are present for the judging, although Wyatt says there's been some talk of letting the culinary exhibitors watch the judging from behind glass.

I took these photos back before I had a decent camera. Also, the flash issue was a problem. Still, I like the image of the ladies, all in a row, sampling the cakes and cookies. Yum.

Mrs. Rosa's dahlias

2008-10-18T23:11:00.001-04:00

This is the daughter of Mrs. Rosa Hicks of Banner Elk, N.C., standing next to her mother's dahlias at a family reunion. Rosa is the widow of famed storyteller Ray Hicks. Mrs. Hicks and her flowers are a treasure. I interviewed her for a 2007 magazine article, excerpted here:

Rosa Hicks, 76, who has lived her life in the high country of Avery County, was one of the North Carolina farm women immortalized in Lawrence's book "Gardening for Love: The Market Bulletins," published after the author's death. Hicks has advertised in the N.C. Agricultural Review for more than 50 years, and still sells dahlias through the mail and at her house on Old Mountain Road in Banner Elk. Her offerings from the 1950s and 60s read like an encyclopedia of North Carolina's treasured wildflowers: Dutchman's breeches, Ladyslippers, trilliums, bellworts, trout lilies, mayapples and galax.

"Mostly all the flowers we advertised were around the house on our place," she said. "But some we had to go to the woods to get." Back then, Hicks swapped plants with "other flower lovers" and sometimes bartered for printed feed sacks, which she used to sew pillowslips and children's shirts and dresses. Though she enjoyed trading plants and says it sometimes felt like a hobby, the money she earned was—and still is—a vital source of household income.

Elizabeth Lawrence also wrote a passage about Ray Hicks and his thoughts on snakebite.

"People don't understand snakebite," he said. "There are herbs for it, but turpentine and whiskey are the surest cures." He knows a man who has three scars on his face and twelve on his legs from being bitten when he was gathering ginseng. "He never goes where snakes are without taking three bottles of turpentine and a pint of pure good whiskey with him. When a snake strikes he pours the turpentine on the wound, a bottle at a time, until all the poison is drawn out. Then he drinks the whiskey and lies down. If you drink the whiskey first it will kill you."

You can read some of the memories of Ray and Rosa Hicks here.

Mrs. Hicks' flower trade is pretty informal. There are no fancy catalogs. I mailed her $15 last year and asked her to send me as many dahlia tubers as she'd like for that price. I received quite a few fat ones in great condition. They were mixed, so I had to wait for them to bloom to see how they'd look. I know that's not for everyone, but I like to be surprised. And knowing how long they've been in her family makes it extra special.

Should you wish, you may write to her to inquire about her flower sales: Rosa Hicks, 218 Old Mountain Road, Banner Elk, NC 28604.

Pitcher plant in the Hobbit Garden

2008-10-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Cecropia moth caterpillar

2008-10-08T15:02:00.004-04:00

This is one of several caterpillars I raised on sweetgum leaves a few summers ago. Wish I had gotten a better photo, but at least you can see the beautiful colors. An entomologist offered to give me some this year, but they'd already been started on sour cherry and were large enough that he doubted they'd make the transition to sweetgum. I didn't have access to cherry. I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't have a sweetgum tree either. But there's one behind a fast food restaurant not too far from here. That's where I "borrowed" the branches when I was raising this guy. There's a much better and more dramatic photo of a cat here and an adult here.

Redneck dahlia

2008-10-07T00:04:00.000-04:00

Armchair traveler: the Canadian Rockies

2008-10-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

My friend Tracy likes to live large. While on a business trip to Calgary last week, he took a spur trail to Banff National Park and points beyond.

Word of the Day: "katabatic wind," which means, says he, "a [expletive] cold wind that blows off a glacier"!

Photos, copyright 2008, Tracy Fulghum
[top] Sunrise in Banff from the 9-1/2 floor of Banff Springs Inn
[bottom] Lake Agnes (he thinks) near Lake Louise

Abandoned macaque finds a friend

2008-10-04T18:55:00.002-04:00

I think this might be one of the most poignant photos I've ever seen. Click on the image for the whole story.

Grandfather Mountain still in good hands

2008-10-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest environmental success stories in North Carolina this year is the announcement Monday that Grandfather Mountain has been purchased by the state. Put up for sale recently by the heirs of Hugh Morton, the mountain and surrounding wilderness areas will become the home of North Carolina's newest state park—2,601 acres!

A steal at $12 million, Grandfather Mountain is not only a state treasure, it is a national and world treasure. Designated an International Biosphere Reserve, the mountain and its backcountry contain 16 distinct ecological communities and 73 rare and endangered species, including the Rafinesque's big-eared bat, Carolina northern flying squirrel, bog turtle and Appalachian yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Tourists know Grandfather Mountain for its most famous attraction, Morton's Mile High Swinging Bridge. When I was a tot, that bridge scared the daylights out of me, but on my most recent visit, I was able to walk (with trepidation) to the middle before turning back. Another beloved attraction was the late Mildred the Bear. The Morton family will continue to operate the tourist attraction through a nonprofit organization supported by money from the sale.

We have Hugh Morton to thank for his conservation ethic and stewardship of Grandfather Mountain. And we have his heirs to thank for selling to the State of North Carolina, at a bargain, a chunk of land that would make billionaire developers weak in the knees.

Paperbird

2008-10-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

I know many of my wonderful neighbors, but I'm not always aware of all their unique talents. Yesterday I discovered that Debra, who lives down the street from us, makes and sells beautiful handmade paper goods. An artist and ecologist, she creates whimsical cards, albums, journals and other crafts with nature themes. You can view (and purchase) Debra's wonderful work via her Web site, Paperbird. She also does custom designs and orders. Pop in for a visit. I think you'll like it!

Eastern bluebird
copyright 2008
Debra Shore