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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Purt, nigh Lizabethan
I’m no expert on regional linguistics, but through the years I’ve delighted in the dialect English still spoken here in…
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Medicinal uses of black cohosh
“The first large, successful American business run by a woman was said to be the Lydia E. Pinkham Medical Company,…
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Living inside the box
Five turtle species reside in Western North Carolina: snapping, musk, and painted turtles are primarily found in streams, lakes, and…
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Battered berries
Those who’ve participated in my natural history workshops know that that I’m not a very good source for information regarding…
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A world without end
Two weeks ago, we reviewed current theories about the uplift of the Appalachian Mountains about 250 million years ago, as…
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The ridge named blue
Last week, we reviewed current theories concerning the uplift of the Appalachian Mountains about 250 million years ago. And we…
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Everything old is new again
The inter-related geologic and geographic heritage of the Blue Ridge Province is a complex but fascinating and rewarding subject to…
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The honest little bird
On one level, the natural history of a region consists of its terrain, habitats, plants, animals and how they interrelate.…
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Wild, mysterious and sometimes a bit sly
In the natural world here in the Blue Ridge, there are certain visual images that rivet the attention of human…
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