Outdoors
Christmas Bird Count marks 125 years
Since its origin in 1900, the Christmas Bird Count has become a holiday fixture for ever-expanding numbers of birders across the globe, giving a valuable gift to generations of wildlife scientists — a massive trove of data on bird populations in the Western Hemisphere.
Up Moses Creek: Cinnamon Bun eats out
A female timber rattler lived inside an old railroad tie beside our back porch last summer, coming out in the afternoons to lie on the steps in the sun. Curled up like that, the snake showed swirls of light brown, with dark-toasted bands, and her scales gave off a sugary glaze, so Becky named her Cinnamon Bun.
The Joyful Botanist: Bogged down in winter
I’ve been getting bogged down a lot this year. I don’t mean that I’ve been in a quagmire or morass necessarily, but I’ve been slogging through some incredibly beautiful wetland ecosystems in the mountains and throughout the southeastern US.
I’ve been bog stomping.
The Joyful Botanist: Banking on it
There are many places and things that you can bank on in our world. You can call bank on a basketball court or pool table. You can carve a bank on a skateboard. You can donate food to a food bank or blood to a blood bank. You can upload data to a data bank that runs on multiple levels of memory banks. You can climb down the riverbank to take a dip.
Up Moses Creek: A Head of Streaming Hair
Just before sunset on Oct. 15, Becky and I left home for the Jackson County Airport, its runway laid on a flattened-off ridge near Cullowhee named Berry Mountain.
HCLT to conserve 100 acre tract of pristine land in Cashiers
Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust (HCLT) is under contract on 100 acres of raw and pristine land in Cashiers. Fully surrounded by U.S. Forest Service land, this property is visible from Whiteside Mountain and protects streams in the Chattooga watershed.
NCWRC votes to advance Red Wolf recovery
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission today voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to advance Red Wolf recovery in the state.
Sign up for night skiing at Cataloochee
Jackson County Recreation is offering four, five and six-week programs that will allow skiers to enjoy lessons under the night sky at Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley. Lesson times run from about 3-5 p.m., but skiers can hit the slopes afterward until 10 p.m.
North Carolina announces drinking water awards
The North Carolina Division of Water Resources has honored 79 water treatment plants for surpassing federal and state drinking water standards in 2023.