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Snakes, really, are beautiful creatures
Published: 2020-09-02 14:45:09Snakes are among the world’s most beautiful, fascinating, and ominous creatures. We are at once attracted to and repelled by them. . The ancient Cherokees focused several of their myths about the close relationship of good and evil upon the Uktena (“...
Read MoreOverlooks are special places in the southern mountains
Published: 2020-08-12 16:32:02High-elevation overlooks are one of our finest natural resources. These vantage points allow us to rise above our everyday humdrum existence and see the world with fresh eyes. Many of the finest overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the Great Smokie...
Read MoreThe comeback of the turkey a real success
Published: 2020-08-05 16:05:33The come back of the wild turkey in the southern mountains in recent years is one of the notable success stories in wildlife restoration. Thirty or so years ago, the sighting of a flock of wild turkeys was a rarity. Thanks to the combined efforts of the ...
Read MoreCharlies Bunion one of best views in Smokies
Published: 2020-07-22 16:19:47Are you by chance looking for a high-elevation day-hike that embodies quite a bit of the region’s human history? If so, try the moderate to steep portion of the Appalachian Trail that leads from the Newfound Gap parking area in the Great Smoky Mountain...
Read MoreJimson weed has a long and lethal history
Published: 2020-07-15 15:58:37If you have a recently cleared area on your property or in your neighborhood, there's an excellent chance that jimson weed is blooming there right now. The good news is that it’s one of more interesting species in one of the most remarkable plant famil...
Read MoreScarlet tanagers spar in song
Published: 2020-07-08 15:36:43This seems to be a scarlet tanager kind of year. I’ve been seeing and hearing them at my house, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and in the Great Smokies. No bird in our region is more striking. Jet black wings on a trim red almost luminescent body, the m...
Read MoreThe secretive, intelligent and prolific crow
Published: 2020-07-01 15:24:12Like most commonly observed objects, crows flit across our field of vision unheeded. Caw-caw-cawing unmusically … flap-flap-flapping over the fields … dressed as if for a funeral … iridescent pieces of black flannel waving in the breeze. We hear an...
Read MoreBox turtles can live 120 years
Published: 2020-06-24 15:52:40Five turtle species reside in Western North Carolina: snapping, musk, and painted turtles are primarily found in streams, lakes, and ponds. The elusive and rare bog turtle is found in the habitat for which it’s named. The eastern box turtle will enter ...
Read MoreDragging Canoe was Cherokee’s greatest military leader
Published: 2020-06-17 14:22:37Historian E. Raymond Adams has maintained that the warrior with the curious name of Dragging Canoe was “the greatest military leader ever produced by the Cherokee people.” A review of Dragging Canoe’s military career doesn’t reveal many great vic...
Read MoreToxic plants of Appalachia
Published: 2020-06-10 15:52:53From time to time, I’ve discussed in this space various plants the Cherokees and early settlers utilized for medicinal, edible and utilitarian purposes. The reverse side of that topic would be those plants that were dangerous to use. . The most dangero...
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