This is a Black Swallowtail butterfly. They are a very common butterfly. There were a lot of them up at Jump Off Rock. I’ve frequently seen butterflies up at Jump Off Rock. I think they intentionally plant butterfly-friendly plants there. One time I saw a cloud of butterflies go by. It was over before I…
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Mills River, not far from Meadowbrook Log Cabin, is one of the few places where Mudpuppies and Hellbenders live. Mudpuppies and Hellbenders are really big salamanders. Hellbenders grow up to 30” long. Mudpuppies are nearly that long. Hellbenders have four toes on the front feet and five toes on the back feet. Mudpuppies have four…
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This is a painted turtle by the brook in the yard of Meadowbrook Log Cabin. We don’t see them often by the brook. Painted turtles prefer slower moving water. But, in the Spring, when they are looking for love, they range. Later they will lay eggs. Painted turtles can lay just one egg or a…
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It used to be really unusual to see a wild turkey in Western North Carolina. More recently we are seeing them, sometimes even in town. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission started a restoration program in the 1950s. They trapped over 6,000 Eastern Wild Turkeys in areas where there were a lot and moved them to…
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If you see holes in a tree in a straight line, it’s woodpeckers. And believe it or not, it doesn’t usually hurt the tree. Around here it is probably a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. They are small woodpeckers that make rows of small holes in straight lines. This is one of the trees in the field where…
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This is a white squirrel on the porch at Meadowbrook Log Cabin. Druid Hills has quite a few white squirrels now. There seem to be more every year. I first saw white squirrels when my grandparents moved to Maple Street in Brevard in the 1970s. I was surprised when I moved back to the area…
Read More5 miles from the Ranger Station. This is where the trout is raised for release in Western North Carolina streams. The hatchery is operated by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. There is a trail, gift shop, vending machines and a short exhibit museum at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education called “Mountain Streams – Where…
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I was really excited when I found out we have a Serpentarium near us. Serpentarium Magic Winter Hours: Tues – Sat, 11am – 6pm; Sun, 1pm – 6pm Summer Hours: Tues – Sat, 10am – 7pm; Sun, 1pm – 6pm 57 Hunters Ridge Road off Boylston Highway in Mills River The sign was easy to…
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This morning on Nature News Carlton Burke and Dan Lazar took us on a field trip to hear Brood VI of the 17 Year Periodical Cicada. Nature News is a local AM radio show that tells what is going on in nature locally. It comes on AM 1600 every Saturday at 7:00 AM. You can…
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Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Connemara Farms, the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and writer Carl Sandburg Open daily, 9 AM – 5 PM Home of Poet and Author Carl Sandburg and Goat Dairy of his wife, Paula Sandburg. 264 acres of pastures, ponds, small mountains, hiking trails and fifty structures. Admission to the…
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