Skulker of the tangles
The other morning at 6:00 o’clock, at Hickey Fork in the Pisgah National Forest’s Shelton Laurel Backcountry Area in Madison County, the loud ringing song of a Swainson’s warbler shattered the early morning stillness. The mnemonic for the Swainson’s song is “whee,...
Puddling – a kaleidoscope adventure
Maddy (my four-year-old) and I had been in the woods at Harmons Den checking on some bird points. We came out of the woods at the Harmons Den Horse Camp. At the intersection of Cold Springs Road (FS Rd. 148) and the entrance to the horse camp (FS Rd. 3526) there is an...
The answer’s still blowin but the times may be a’changin
I was heartened recently my two op-eds I read in area newspapers regarding industrial-sized wind turbines in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The reasoned commentaries were written by individuals with firsthand knowledge of science, the scientific method,...
Bird Lag
Last weekend (5/21-5/23) was a blur of birds, bears and blooms – a combination of work, friends, fellowship and family that left me beat and begging for more. I started out in the thick damp predawn hours Friday morning. I headed to Harmons Den where I have bird...
Perks of Adult ADD
The other morning I was in the wilds of the Cheoah Ranger District below the Cherohala Skyway sawing and dragging trees out of Forest Service roads so I could get to my bird points for this year’s survey. Rather than paying attention to where my digits and/or limbs...
Murky waters – Louisiana in limbo
The giant oil slick (reported to be the size of Puerto Rico) sliding around in the Gulf of Mexico like bacon grease on a George Foreman grill tied to the back of an alligator is once again sliming its way toward a Louisiana landfall. Latest predictions from the...