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Jun 5, 20232 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Dance Flies, Balloon Flies, or Fairies?
The world is filled with such wondrous things. I’m often astounded by what I stumble upon while I’m in the woods. The other day, along...
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May 30, 20233 min read
The Wild Grape: Friend of Foe?
You will notice when you hike along the double loop trail in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest that you don’t see much wild grape. You...
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May 23, 20233 min read
What does this Old Man's Beard have to do with the forest?
What is that grey, stringy stuff on the sides of the trees in the forest? It looks almost like light green hair. Also known as Old...
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May 16, 20233 min read
What in the world is Bear Corn?
A strange looking living thing emerges from the soil around the bases of oak trees in the spring. It is a member of the Broomrake family...
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May 8, 20233 min read
Mother Nature Monday: The Mushroom of Immortality
Have you ever heard of “The Mushroom of Immortality”? Called Reishi in Japan and Ling Chi in China, its species name is Ganoderma...
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May 1, 20233 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Jack-In-The-Pulpit
The Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Bog Onion or Indian Turnip was one of the first native plants I was taught to recognize when I was a child. It...
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Apr 24, 20233 min read
Mother Nature Monday: The Ladyslipper
Over the years, I’ve noticed that there is always one flower that someone asks about on every wildflower hike I lead. The Ladyslipper. ...
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Apr 17, 20233 min read
Mother Nature Monday: The Elderberry
These days there is a particular focus on plants that are well know as immunity boosters and anti-viral. The Elderberry (Sambucus) is...
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Apr 10, 20233 min read
Mother Nature Monday: The American Beech Tree
There are many ways to identify a tree. The tree’s bark, roots, leaves and leaf buds are all some of the parts of a tree that can help,...
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Apr 4, 20232 min read
Introducing Our Champion Tree
Several years ago Joe Bonnette, a retired forest ranger and a friend of mine, who lives in Graham County, informed me that we have a...
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Mar 31, 20232 min read
April's Partners of Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wildnerness Newsletter
Dear Partners and Friends, We have an exciting April coming up. Hope you can join us at some of these events. The first week of April,...
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Mar 26, 20232 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Meet Little Brown Jugs and Ginger
You can find Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) growing in many areas of Graham County, and there is an especially nice patch along the...
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Mar 20, 20233 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Bring On the Ramps!
Many of our readers have heard of Ramps. This past week they have started to raise their pointy tips up from the soil. For those that...
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Mar 13, 20233 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Spring into Spring Wildflower Season
The Spring has officially begun! Every spring, when the ephemeral flowers start appearing in our woods and valleys, there are a few...
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Mar 6, 20232 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Cinnamon Clethra
The lower left loop of the double loop Memorial Trail is open again. This year I expect to see many things along that trail that I have...
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Feb 28, 20233 min read
The Adam and Eve Orchid
One of the striking native orchids that can be spotted in mid-winter is the Puttyroot orchid or Adam and Eve orchid. The Latin name for...
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Feb 20, 20232 min read
Mother Nature Monday: The Giant Tulip Poplars
Recently a friend expressed her concern that when the elderly Tulip Poplars, the Giants of the upper loop, died, that there would be no...
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Feb 13, 20233 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Rhododendrons as nature's weatherman
The Great Rhododendrons (Rhododendron maximum) are easily spotted in the winter by their evergreen leaves. Rhododendron comes from the...
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Feb 6, 20232 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Rose Moss
There are many kinds of moss in our temperate rain forest. The most beautiful moss I have ever seen can be found all year round but is...
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Jan 30, 20232 min read
Mother Nature Monday: Orchids in the Forest
When I think of orchids, I think of warm rainforests and brilliantly colored blossoms growing on trees somewhere near the equator. Much...
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