Ginkgo — a living fossil
When a street was being cut in front of the new county administration building here in Bryson City back in…
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The golden season
It’s starting to become the goldenrod time of the year. Goldenrods — like asters, thistles, cosmos, zinnias, daisies, coneflowers, dahlias,…
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Hollyhocks and reminders of the past
Sometimes it’s difficult to draw the line between the natural and cultivated plant worlds. As cultivated plants escape they often…
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Sicklefin redhorse and the Cherokee
An article by Jon Ostendorff headed “Rare fish released into Oconaluftee River” appeared in this past Monday’s edition of the…
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The thrill of new discoveries
I’ve had the opportunity to spend a lot of time recently up on the Blue Ridge Parkway conducting natural history…
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A man’s got to work and fish
This past Sunday afternoon I decided to go for a walk along the Tuckasegee River west of Bryson City. If…
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Thunder in the valley
Last week a late evening thunderstorm with high winds and occasional flashes of lightning rolled out of the high Smokies…
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The elusive hellbender
Have you ever noticed that once you start thinking about something or someone you haven’t seen in awhile, it’s not…
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Beware the leaves of three
If you like native Appalachian plants that are variable and adaptive, have interesting natural histories with abundant associations in both…
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Weed or wildflower?
The status of a given plant as either a “noxious weed” or a “lovely wildflower” is pretty much a matter…
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Just looking around
I’m rediscovering that it’s good to just slip out of the office and amble around town for a few minutes.…
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The mountain rhodo show
Rhododendrons are a part of the heath family (Ericaceae), which includes such diverse members in regard to size and habitat…
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Cherokee language and zoology
Doctoral dissertations don’t usually make for exciting reading. There are, however, exceptions.
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Persecution of the dandelion
It seems that every lawn care commercial on TV or radio these days is aimed at touting a product which…
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Bartram’s early accounts of Cowee
The preservation of the Cowee mound and village site alongside the Little Tennessee River in Macon County is truly significant…
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Guyot’s Smokies
Paul Fink and Myron H. Avery were two of the foremost explorers of the Southern Appalachians — especially the Great…
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Ash bats and the boys of summer
Some essays get to their point or points right away. Others are discursive, beating around the bush before getting there.…
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The storied bloodroot
Bloodroot is surely one of most widely admired wildflowers in the eastern United States. Walk now through any rocky, deciduous…
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Neufeld’s book on Appalachia
There is a newly published collection of essays that deserves the full attention of any reader interested in this region’s…
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Tradition of the cockfight
As most everyone knows, a cockfight is a match between two specially trained roosters traditionally held in a ring called…
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Accounts of a horned serpent
I have on more than one occasion written about Uktenas, the giant horned serpents modeled on timber rattlesnakes that appear…
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Old remedies for the toothache
As noted previously in several Back Then columns, the Cherokees and later on the white settlers here in the Blue…
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A chip off the ole mauler block
Just after Christmas, my wife, Elizabeth, and I were driving south in the San Luis Valley of Colorado headed for…
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A harrowing tale of bear encounters
In the natural world there are certain experiences that rivet our attention and remain stored in our memory banks. Through…
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Recounting natural history
For me, no pursuit is truly worthwhile unless it has an associated body of literature one can consult from time…
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Medicinal plants of the Southern Appalachians
Back in November at the Great Smoky Mountains Book Fair in Sylva I met Patricia Kyritsi Howell and purchased a…
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Journal to remember
Maintaining a nature journal has been one of my ongoing, albeit intermittent, preoccupations. Keeping such a journal assists me in…
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Spreading seeds — a special feat
While conducting plant identification workshops, I always try to remember to discuss two aspects that are essential if one is…
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Blemishes uncovered
Winter is unsparing. It exposes the lines and blemishes on human faces. It reveals worn hillsides and rutted backcountry lanes.…
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The art of well-watching
Now is the time to start looking for yellow-bellied sapsuckers here in the Smokies region. Of the various woodpecker species…
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The natural order of things
While observing your backyard bird feeder this winter, you may be startled by a blue flash that suddenly rockets into…
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Interrupting irruptives
Some winters there will be an influx of northern bird species into the southeastern United States. Here in the Smokies…
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Ancient animals of the Blue Ridge
Names of places throughout the Blue Ridge country pay tribute to the familiar wildlife of the region: Bear Wallow Stand…
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Cold weather and deep sleepers
This past weekend’s sudden drop in overnight temperatures into the high 20s (26 degrees and 28 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, at…
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The peculiar grace of the mink
“On a morning in October, when a light mist hung over the pond, a mink appeared following this path beside…
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Nuts about acorns
Acorns are elegant. They are one of our most beautiful fruits, sometimes produced in such numbers by the varied oak…
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Fine features of a familiar footpath
An ancient Chinese philosopher once admonished his listeners to “Study the familiar!” Ancient Chinese philosophers were always admonishing people to…
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Nighttime navigators
Usually I sit on the front deck of our house for a while after getting home from work. Then, before…
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Expect the unexpected
When writing about the natural world, I prefer to write about specific natural areas, plants, and animals here in the…
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The oil nut’s curious little green fruits
For me, the fall season is one of the most invigorating times to get out in the woods and prowl…
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Chinquapins a hardy, unusual shrub
Do you have chinquapins growing on your property or in your vicinity? If so, you’re fortunate. For my money, “the…
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The turkey’s role in Cherokee culture
The come back of the wild turkey in the southern mountains in recent years is one of the notable success…
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A legacy of lookers
From time to time, I like to reflect upon the plant hunters, botanists and horticulturalists that first entered these mountains…
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The Smokies back then
Scott Weidensaul, who lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania, is one of my favorite nature writers. His Mountains of the…
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A perfect time for a visit in the park
Now is the perfect time to plan a mountain getaway excursion in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. One of…
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The mountains tumultuous past
To myself, mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery; in them, and in the forms of…
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Indian hemp for the long haul
For me, those plants found here in the Smokies region that have verified practical human uses are, in the long…
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Careful of the jimson weed
“Jimson Weed is featured in a set of mystic books recently popular, Carlos Castaneda’s tales of mind expansion with the…
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