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586 Search Results for "george ellison"
Celebrating the odiferous ramp
Published: 2015-03-11 15:55:40Purple rhododendron is the most admired flowering plant in the Southern Appalachians. Ginseng is the most celebrated medicinal plant. And ramps are the most sought-after culinary plant — a fact that has led to its overharvesting in the wild. . Ramp hun...
Read MoreAdaptation helps plants weather the cold
Published: 2015-02-25 15:31:38As I write this on Tuesday morning there are five or so inches of snow covering the ground outside my window. The forecast on the Internet is for more snow. By Thursday there may be upwards of 10 inches. My wife and I protect ourselves from the elements ...
Read MoreThe butternut is a country boy’s tree
Published: 2015-02-11 15:50:00“A countryman’s tree is the Butternut, known to the farm boy but not his city cousin. One who takes thoughtful walks in the woods may come to know and admire it for the grand old early American it is.” — Donald Culross Peattie, A Natural History ...
Read MoreCherokee knew how to handle the chill of winter
Published: 2015-01-28 16:22:20“Two or more Families join together in building a hot-house, about 30 feet Diameter, and 15 feet high, in form of a Cone, with Poles and thatched, without any air-hole, except a small door about 3 feet high and 18 Inches wide. In the Center of the hot-...
Read MoreThis must be the place
Published: 2015-01-28 15:51:31It is the single greatest influence on my life. The people, music and culture that encompasses the Grateful Dead is the exact reason I find myself typing this right now. The sights and sounds associated with this melodic ocean liner sailing the high and ...
Read MoreThe creative code of old-time surveyors
Published: 2015-01-14 15:34:24Since 1976 we’ve resided in a cove about four miles west of Bryson City. Using various old deeds my wife, Elizabeth, and I have located tree slashes, stones, stakes, etc., which delineate the cove’s boundaries. We have found that old-time Appalachian...
Read MoreIt’s the ‘other information’ that makes almanacs interesting
Published: 2014-12-31 16:28:54Now is the time to make resolutions, order seeds for the coming year’s garden and buy an almanac for 2015. Just doing those things will make you feel better. My almanac of choice this year is titled “Harris’ Farmer’s Almanac for the use of farmer...
Read MoreMistletoe’s link to romance goes way back
Published: 2014-12-17 16:33:26The custom of decorating with mistletoe goes back to the ceremonials of the Druids. It is a reminder of the ancient custom of keeping green things indoors in winter as a refuge for the spirits of the wood exiled by the severities of cold. The European mi...
Read MoreStop and smell the … ferns
Published: 2014-12-03 16:35:50One of my favorite times to observe ferns is in winter when they stand out in the brown leaf-litter. Of the 70 or so species that have been documented in the southern mountains, perhaps a fourth are evergreen. These would include walking fern, rockcap fe...
Read MoreFlycatcher family of birds is fun to watch
Published: 2014-11-19 16:29:32During the breeding season a number of birds that belong to the flycatcher family appear in the southern mountains: eastern kingbirds and wood peewees, as well as great crested, olive-sided, least, arcadian, willow, and alder flycatchers. As their name i...
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