Slow day at Lake J
I believe Lake Junaluska has spoiled local birders like me. I spent about an hour and a half poking around the lake and nearby areas last Sunday morning. I ran into a few other birders and we were all of the same opinion – the lake was dead, not much going on. But...
Record snowfall in the East
This snowfall is measured in feathers or bodies not inches. This year is turning out to be a major irruption year for snowy owls in the eastern U.S. and at least four have been reported from the Carolinas. Snowys, Nyctea (or Bubo) scandiaca, nest in northernmost...
Hunting season
Orion the Hunter has taken to the late autumn skies. One of the loveliest and easiest recognized constellations will be stalking the heavens till he slides into the daytime sky early next spring. Astronomers believe the Hunter, in his present form, is more than a...
Town has begun thinning white pine in watershed
I believe it was in 2010 when the Town of Waynesville signed off on a plan to thin the stands of whit e pine in the Waynesville Watershed. Today (11/25) Cecil Brooks began doing just that. Brooks said that, weather permitting he would probably be hauling the first...
Fire in the landscape – still a burning question
It will likely take awhile for the smoke to clear after the Table Rock Fire near Linville Gorge in the Grandfather District of the Pisgah National Forest either burns out or is suppressed. The fire was first spotted Tuesday, November 12 – the very same day that...
Hermit in the house
I can be standing five feet from my girls and say something simple like, “wash your hands,” “brush your teeth” or “clean your room,” and not even an eyebrow will twitch in acknowledgement. But put those same girls down in the basement with TV or ipad/pod blaring at...