Outdoors
The Joyful Botanist: Let this umbrella make you smile
Were you suddenly stuck on a north facing hillside in the Blue Ridge mountains during a Summer thunderstorm and were without jacket or hood, in theory you could pull off the leaf of one of my favorite wildflowers, flip it upside down and wear it on your head like one of those cheesy umbrella hats — that is, if you are near to where the umbrella leaf grows.
Haywood Waterways offers septic system workshop
Haywood Waterways Association, Haywood County Environmental Health Department and Jennings Environmental are hosting workshops about septic systems and streambank erosion control techniques on Wednesday, May 28.
WNC Sierra Club presents ‘Smart Urban Planning and Asheville’
On Wednesday, June 4, at UNCA’s Olli Reuter Center and on Zoom, join Joe Minicozzi of Urban 3 for a discussion of our region’s urban planning.
Rose show returns to NC Arboretum
The Asheville-Blue Ridge Rose Society will host its annual Rose Exhibition at The North Carolina Arboretum in the Education Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 24 and 25.
This two-day event showcases the diverse range of roses grown by Rose Society members and at local gardens.
Blue Ridge School hosts soccer camp
Jackson County’s Blue Ridge School is offering a soccer camp at its field.
The camp will run from 8 a.m. to noon from May 28-30. Ages 6-12. Cost is $60 per day, and registration is open through May 26.
Jackson County Rec ’Archery 101’ course
Kids ages 10-14 in Jackson County will have the chance to learn the ins and out of archery.
The course will be held from 5-8 p.m. May 30 at the Cashiers/Glenville Recreation Center.
Renowned outdoorswoman Nancy East publishes a second book
One of the best things about the mountains of Western North Carolina is that even in places we’ve seen a hundred times, we can always find something new and intriguing. This is a lesson Nancy East, an avid hiker and seasoned search-and-rescue operator, learned over and over again as she wrote her second book, “Historic Hikes in Western North Carolina.”
Word from the Smokies: Dragonflies an unlikely ‘Rosetta Stone’ to understanding mercury contamination
With 360-degree vision, bright-colored bodies that sparkle jewel-like in the sun and acrobatic flight patterns reaching speeds of nearly 35 miles per hour, dragonflies are some of the more glamorous members of the insect world.
Hogs and hammocks: Inside this resilient Smokies farm stay
Tucked away in a gentle bend of a placid river near Iron Duff, Smoky Mountain River Ranch has weathered economic downturns, floods, hurricanes and silent, ceaseless development pressure — all while raising a very special animal those who know call a delicacy.
