Learning and writing haiku
Lots of people write haikus or haiku-like verse. This past year we had several haiku-writing fests at our house. House…
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The art of interviewing — let’em do the talking
When I started writing features for a newspaper in the late 1980s, I didn’t have much of a clue as…
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Flowers are beautiful reminder of early settlements
As indicated in recent Back Then columns, I've been of late walking some of the old trails along creeks in…
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Different tribes treated captives differently
I conduct workshops on Southeastern Indian history and culture at the John C. Campbell Folk School for two full weeks…
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Pileated woodpeckers a mainstay in the mountains
The tapping of pileateds ... means attachment to a nest site and attachment of the members of a pair to…
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One of the Smokies’ finest poets
Olive Tilford Dargan is fairly well known in literary circles as the author of From My Highest Hill (1941), a…
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Geronimo’s brush with Western North Carolina
The names Geronimo and Gen. George Cook are interwoven in the lore of northern Mexico, southeastern Arizona, western New Mexico…
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Poetic writing by a true mountain woman
I am the summer … I am the firefly and the moon … the rain on the leaves the swamp…
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The fascinating story of the Plott hound
A new book has been published that will be of particular interest to area hunters, outdoorsmen, and dog lovers. It…
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Beech tree retains its tropical bark characteristics
A concept among biologists is that of “keystone species:” plants or animals with a pervasive influence on community composition and…
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Holing up is common for poisonous snakes in winter
Where do the poisonous snakes go in winter? In the Smokies region we have two poisonous species: timber rattlesnakes and…
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The playful raven is a Smoky Mountain favorite
Along with plants like red spruce, Fraser fir, yellow birch, mountain maple, mountain ash, Canada Mayflower, witch-hobble, and bluebead lily,…
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The poetry in a weather’s sharp vision
Note: This essay was originally written for The Smoky Mountain News. It was subsequently revised and collected in Mountain Passages,…
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Navigating the waterways of WNC
When one thinks about navigation in regard to the rivers here in the Smokies region, it’s old-time ferries and modern-day…
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The light of winter is ‘tricky business’
Winter Light So much light in what we call the dark of the year, a flashing and glittering of light…
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Going back to explain ‘back of beyond’
Most of us at one time or another hanker for a place where we can get away from it all…
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Feeling sprightlier on an early winter day
Sometimes I find myself walking without having made a conscious decision to do so. My body seems to feel the…
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Thanksgiving and lungwort bread
I have perused Kephart’s Camping and Woodcraft many times, but somehow or other had consistently overlooked his entry on lungwort…
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A poetic tribute from a son of the Smokies
The second volume of an anthology of nature writing from Western North Carolina and the Great Smokies that I edited…
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Ginseng, ferns and an ancient dialect
“Sang” redux. Several weeks ago I wrote about ginseng. I have, in fact, been writing about ginseng for years. There…
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Masks are mirrors looking back at us
A mask is a mechanism employed to cover the face as a protective screen or disguise. For protection, they have…
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Casual, unplanned — and heavenly
You don’t have to live in a cabin to get cabin fever. You can come down with a bad case…
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An early description of Haywood’s vegetation
Roland M. Harper was born in Maine but spent practically his entire professional life in the South, where his work…
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Civil War crossing of Smokies was memorable feat
The war in the Smokies proved to be … a curious conjunction of terrain, history, politics, and culture ... a…
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Old-timers and their colorful plant names
It’s that time of the year, and the hills are alive not with music but “sang” hunters. As of now…
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An Appalachian ‘original genius’
(Note: Since its publication several years ago, this column about Evan O. Hall has sparked a number of comments. Something…
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Shooting frogs through the car window
This is about frogs. Of late, I’ve been thinking about them … especially the frog that snores. As I recently…
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Otters are what beautiful aspires to be
Earlier this week about nine in the morning, I was standing on the Everett Street bridge in the heart of…
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Monkshood — both beautiful and deadly
Usually I locate rare plants by visualizing them and visiting likely habitats. It’s as if I can will them into…
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Screech owls don’t really screech
The Eastern Screech Owl has the broadest ecological niche of any owl in its range. It occurs east of the…
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Oliver deserves more credit for his writing skills
I started to write this column about Duane Oliver before I discovered that he has just published what he tells…
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Our unique geography leads to unusual names
About a year and a half ago I wrote a column titled “Mountain Topography and Language Lend Themselves to Colorful…
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Late summer is an awesome time to botanize
Spring is the appointed time for the various wildflower pilgrimages and outings that attract thousands of visitors to the mountains…
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Add acreage to your spiritual landscape
Lots of folks like to study those molded relief maps of the region, the ones that show the upraised contours…
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Charlie’s Bunion and early history of the park
(Editor’s note: This column first appeared in The Smoky Mountain News in July 2005.) Are you by chance looking for…
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Constructing your own coffin
A portion of this Back Then column appeared in SMN in August 2004 as “A Box to Call Your Own.”…
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‘Big Ice’ links flora and fauna here and in Asia
When walking a trail in the Smokies (or Nantahalas or Great Balsams or wherever) here in the southern Blue Ridge,…
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The mystery of mountain ferns
Identifying ferns is an entirely different process than, say, identifying wildflowers or trees. They don't display flowers, showy fruits, or…
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Plant life distinct to the southern Blue Ridge
The elevations of the southern Blue Ridge province above 4,000 feet can be thought of as a peninsula of northern…
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Blundering upon a Smokies icon
I’ve always been interested in the processes by which we discover things. Being a naturalist, I’m most interested in the…
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Common ash tree deserves more attention
“How many thousand-thousand of untold white ash trees are the respected companions of our doorways, kindliest trees in the clearing…
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Tasty right off the shrub
ELDERBERRY WINE There’s a fly in the window A dog in the yard And a year since I saw you…
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A voice heard in the distance
Rural residents know the yellow-billed cuckoo as the “rain crow” or “storm crow” because its guttural “ka-ka-kow-kow-kowlp-kowlp-kowlp” seems to be…
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Serpents elicit mixed responses among humankind
Serpents are among the world’s most storied creatures. We are at once attracted to and repelled by them. Many view…
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Magnolias not just a Deep South species
Mention magnolias and images of plantations and mint juleps come to mind. But here in Western North Carolina we have…
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A treasure that deserves reprinted in 1933 ‘Guide’
More than a few readers of this column collect books associated with the Smokies region. A friend who spends most…
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Native cougars no longer grace these mountains
Have you ever seen a mountain lion here in the Smokies region? I haven’t. In fact, the only one I’ve…
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A look back at Kephart’s cabin
As part of this coming weekend’s third annual Horace Kephart Day, a group of 20 or so participants will visit…
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New GSMNP visitor center is worth a trip
This past Friday (April 15) I attended the dedication ceremony for the new Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the North Carolina…
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Book captures the essence of waterfalls
Flowing water was the primary agent that sculpted the mountains as we know them today. Long before the first Europeans…
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