As autumn returns, I am excited to see fall cascading down from the mountaintops to the valleys. Cool nights bring color to the peaks, a month or more before reaching my home below. Though lacking the saturation of northeast forests, the greater tree diversity gives a nuanced and rich tapestry […]
Monthly Archives: September 2017
A few days ago I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Water lily flowers are near their peak of delicate blooms, but the leaves are turning yellow and purple, mirroring the start of fall colors dotting trees surrounding the pond. Water lilies are thriving in the heat of this […]
Friends of Roan Mountain is a local organization focused on raising awareness of the mountain, organizing four rallies a year. This past weekend was the fall naturalists’ rally, and over a dozen of us went on a salamander hike. We explored a forest that had a small stream running through […]
This picture looks like a mountain on fire, but actually it is just a dramatic sunrise in the Smokies. The natural smoke is fog from plants exhaling, the breath of the forest. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is visited more than any other park in America, and I feel fortunate […]