Outdoors
Rebuilt for the Future: Setzer Hatchery project emphasizes reliability, flood protection
Construction has begun on the long-planned renovations to the Bobby N. Setzer Hatchery near Brevard, and contractors are saying the project is on schedule for a full-reopening early next year.
During a tour for local media last week, contractors and state officials provided an inside look at the construction. Stacks of piping, totaling about 2.5 miles line the site of future trout raceways, heavy equipment moves rock and laborers dig and survey.
Word from the Smokies: The chickens of Oconaluftee
Who’s in charge of the chickens at the Mountain Farm Museum in Great Smoky Mountains National Park? According to the National Park Service, it’s Interpretive Park Ranger Michael Smith. But the chickens themselves recognize the authority of the large, golden rooster that struts among them — the unchallenged leader of the Oconaluftee flock.
The Joyful Botanist: Flava Flave
The other day as I was sitting inside with cats on my lap, I heard the sound of a miniature helicopter go whooshing by the window behind my head. While it was the first time I had heard it this year, the sound was unmistakable. I knew the hummingbirds were back.
I wasn’t surprised though, as the plants I like to call hummingbird calendars had already announced that their return was imminent.
Waynesville’s Main Street welcomes Tuckaseegee Fly Shop
A new, highly anticipated storefront has recently popped up on Main Street in Waynesville. Tuckaseegee Fly Shop, a popular fly fishing outfitter and guiding service in Western North Carolina, relocated the Waynesville store from Depot to Main in an effort to expand the company and grow its clientele.
“As a Haywood County local with a deep appreciation for the area’s fly fishing history, I felt that Waynesville truly needed a dedicated fly shop — one that could serve both the local community and visiting anglers,” said Waynesville TFS manager Justin Pilat.
Word from the Smokies: Love of place inspired remarkable history collection
Bill and Alice Hart know each other’s stories by heart, have been known to finish each other’s sentences and share an obvious trait — the calm satisfaction of having led purpose-filled lives.
The seeds of that satisfaction began the old-fashioned way — through courtship. William “Bill” Hart, of rural Buncombe County, met Alice Huff, of Sylva, 67 years ago at Western Carolina Teachers College.
The Joyful Botanist: Oh Phacelia, You’re Breaking My Heart
A trip through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a beautiful, often nervous drive, as hundreds of thousands of tourists visit every year, and most do not know how to drive in the mountains. This is especially true trying to navigate winding mountain roads while looking at all of the long-range views.
The Joyful Botanist: Pussytoes, pussytoes, I love you
I love walking in the woods in springtime. Flowers begin to line the trail in late February, and by the first of April, only a fool would fail to notice the abundance and diversity of flowers surrounding them as they saunter through the forest. The first spring wildflowers are all small, blooming just above the ground.
This helps these early flowers survive the ups and downs, highs and lows, freezes and thaws that define springtime.
Up Moses Creek: Spring Has Sprung!
For the past dozen years here up Moses Creek, October has brought not only cool temperatures and colorful leaves but swarms of drone-like brown marmorated stinkbugs that try to get inside our house for the winter. I wrote about these invasive pests in the Nov. 8, 2023, issue of the Smoky Mountain News, and how Becky and I turned their unwelcome arrival into a kind of enjoyable hunting season, making lemonade out of lemons, with no limit on how many bugs we could bag.
The Joyful Botanist: Pussy willows
Every year in early spring, I try to maintain some sense of normalcy and keep to regular schedules and rhythms of work and life. I try, but spring fever infects me each year, and I get caught up in the beautiful excitement of springtime. If this is a sickness, then I hope there’s no cure.
Sometimes I have to leave Southern Appalachia in the springtime for work or family obligations. As much as I try not to, it does happen.
