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586 Search Results for "george ellison"
The gall
Published: 2012-07-27 20:24:46The various relationships that exist between plants and animals are fascinating. My view of wildflower ecology is dominated by the specific pollination requirements of a given plant. Insect pollination is usually a two-way exchange in which the insect be...
Read MoreOvernight hibernation
Published: 2012-07-27 20:04:16As I write this on Monday morning, we’ve just had our initial hard frost of the year here in Swain County. For the first time in seven or so months, I had to dig around and find my windshield scraper. While scraping away at the windshield with nearly f...
Read MorePaging all book lovers
Published: 2012-07-26 19:01:20Readers of the Smoky Mountain News are acutely aware of the writing and storytelling talent here in Western North Carolina. Several writers for this paper have seen their work published, and a score of local authors have seen their books reviewed in thes...
Read MoreWhen litter is good
Published: 2012-07-26 18:50:19Due to the virtual absence of wind and rain, the fall color season is lingering with us. But winter weather and the descent of the leaves will come soon enough. Right now is a good time to keep on paying attention to them. Their autumnal color changes an...
Read MoreWinter preparation
Published: 2012-07-26 18:17:50If you’ve been getting out in the woods at all lately, you’re aware that it’s been an especially good season for chipmunks; indeed, perhaps because of the late frosts and dry weather, it’s been a chipmunk kind of fall. They seem to be everywhere,...
Read MoreQuiz time
Published: 2012-07-26 17:35:20Naturalists are always being quizzed about this or that. Turn about is fair play. So, are you ready for a natural history quiz? Here are 20 questions related to the natural history of the southern mountains. My answers are given at the end. Don’t peek....
Read MoreThe essential nature of winter
Published: 2012-07-26 13:08:35When late November finally arrives, my wife, Elizabeth, and I go into another mode. Her busy season in the gallery-studio she operates here on the town square in Bryson City pretty much comes to an end. The Elderhostel programs, workshops and lectures th...
Read MoreThe evocative power of the color blue
Published: 2012-07-25 14:04:17Green used to be the color that caught my eye. Now it’s blue. So much so that I wrote an ode (of sorts) to the color blue that is in my book Permanent Camp. It goes like this:. SAY BLUE Say the word blue until it sounds strange to you the way words do ...
Read MoreThe winter song of the great horned owl
Published: 2012-07-20 20:44:11As cool dark nights descend upon us to signal the onset of winter, the great horned owls have commenced their annual “singing” along the dark ridges above our home. These great birds don’t sing, of course, in the manner of true songbirds like warbl...
Read MoreRocking out
Published: 2012-07-20 20:00:30Here in the southern mountains there are magical habitats to be explored in every direction and at every elevation. Periglacial boulderfields are among the most unique of these. I learned about them some years ago when I happened upon this description in...
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