ENVIRONMENT

Growing up in the Uwharries, my sister and I were country girls through and through, right down to the soles of our feet. We went barefoot much of the summer. The red clay stained our feet the color of rust. Our calluses allowed us to traverse the gravel driveway and cross the gooey asphalt on […]

[highlightrule]“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” — Aldo Leopold [/highlightrule] The LandTrust for Central North Carolina has launched a youth initiative, the Leopold Society, named for the […]

If you prefer a full-screen version of the map in your browser, click on the image above. The 30-mile Cross Charlotte Trail through Mecklenburg County and Charlotte, when finished, will offer a transportation corridor that will allow users to bicycle or walk from one end of the county to the other, connecting spots such as […]

Digging a hole is one of my favorite garden tasks. I’ve refined my technique over the years, using a stance that protects my temperamental back. The work is satisfying on many levels. I appreciate an upper-body workout that doesn’t require a trip to the gym, and the earthy smell of topsoil enriched by decomposing leaves […]

I recently had the opportunity to go out in the field with Kerry Brust, a red-cockaded woodpecker biologist in the North Carolina Sandhills. I went with Brust to put brightly colored and aluminum bands on nestling red-cockaded woodpeckers. It’s part of a research project begun in 1978, initiated by Dr. Phil Doerr and Dr. Jay […]

I’ve spent time walking in the woods this spring, and I’m always excited by what I find. The other day, while evaluating a property the LandTrust for Central North Carolina is considering for protection, we found a patch of pink lady slippers with a few in bloom. Another wetland the landowner is considering protecting was […]

T.S. Eliot claimed April is the cruelest month, but for gardeners, I’d argue it’s the busiest. In the Piedmont, it’s our last chance to plant trees and shrubs until fall. The soil is warm enough to sow cucumbers, peppers, green beans and squash, and it’s finally safe to set out tomatoes and basil. Catalogues and […]

The northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba and the Cayman islands. It is one of a few species of woodpeckers that migrate. Flickers in the northern part of their range move south for the winter. It is a medium-sized woodpecker, brown with black spots and […]

The Uwharries have produced state champion longleaf and shortleaf pines, but the vast majority of loblollies in the region are harvested long before they reach maturity. I tend to think of them as a long-rotation crop. A recent visit to Congaree National Park near Columbia reminded me of the loblolly’s glorious potential. At more than […]

A few years ago at the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge in Anson County, we spotted an interesting species, thought to be out of its natural range – the wood stork (Mycteria americana). This was during a meeting of the Greater Uwharrie Conservation Partnership, and we saw four wood storks, all juvenile, perched on dead […]