Outdoors
Grants available for agricultural projects
The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission is requesting applications from qualifying organizations that support the agricultural industry, impact rural communities, and stimulate economic development.
Over the hills and far away: Tsali Ultra race returns to WNC
Returning for its 15th installment, the annual outdoor race, the Tsali Ultra, will be once again held at Tsali Recreation Area on Fontana Lake in Graham County.
Haywood Waterways
Haywood Waterways Association sent word last week that its staff and vounteers are hearing from one of their partners that they are working with the state to assess damage to private roads from compromised culverts or bridges.
Wildfire danger high in WNC
The N.C. Forest Service has designated the fire danger for the state’s far western counties as high.
Bears are denning; what to and what not to do
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) advises the public that black bears in North Carolina are in their “winter homes,” which could be anything from a pile of brush, a hollowed-out tree, a rock cavity, an excavation under a fallen tree or even under the deck or in the crawl space of your home.
The Joyful Botanist: A smile for the briars
I get asked questions a lot about plants, nature and the woods. People will walk up to me, take out their phones and show me a picture of a leaf or flower they found on their last hike or growing in their back yard and ask, “Hey Adam, what’s this plant?” I love it when this happens, every time. It brings a big smile to my face and joy to my heart.
Up Moses Creek: ‘Blow wind like you’re never gonna blow again’
On Saturday morning, Dec. 14, Becky reminded me that she was going to hear Darren Nicholson and his band play at the Tuckasegee Trading Company’s annual holiday open house, and she hoped I’d go too.
The Joyful Botanist: A cedar by any other name
When is a cedar not really a cedar? Well, in the case of the evergreen tree that most people know as eastern red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana), that answer is always. This cedar is not truly a cedar. Its common, or folk name is red-cedar, which I’ve also seen written as red cedar. And often people will shorten that to cedar and would assume that it is truly a cedar.
The Joyful Botanist: Happy Holly Days
Editor’s note: This is a re-print of a column that originally ran in 2022.
There are many different plants that Appalachian mountainfolk have used for centuries in their decorations and celebrations on or around the winter solstice.
