When it comes to fall leaf color, trees are what comes to mind for most. Sure, trees are big and there are lots of them. In Autumn when the leaves change they attract a lot of attention and draw tens of thousands of visitors. Most articles and reports about fall color are referencing trees, and possibly some shrubs. I’d like to show some love for the beautiful changing colors of herbaceous plants on the forest floor.  

Water washes us clean, helps to cook our food and quenches our thirst. Water grows our crops, cools the air and brings the flowers in April and May. Not enough water leads to drought and fire.

There are many different wildflowers that signal the seasonal transition from summer into fall. 

I used to be overcome with the melancholy of fall when I would see the goldenrods (Solidago spp.) start to bloom, thinking “No, it’s too early for the end of the blooming season and the start of winter!” That’s how I used to think of fall. Goldenrods no longer usher in the sadness for me as I have successfully reframed them as a summer wildflower that blooms into fall. 

Western North Carolina is a hiker’s paradise.

With so much land protected by national and state forests and parks, those who live in the Western North Carolina area have endless hiking opportunities.

Spring has fully sprung across Southern Appalachia, as we are awakened daily to birdsong and the bustling morning activity of bees and butterflies.

Whoever first wrote down the phrase, “You reap what you sow” was definitely not a farmer or gardener. I’ve started following that phrase with, “…if you’re lucky.”