Uwharries

The headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington bears a quote from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” Given the sticker shock many of us received when we opened our property revaluation notices, I imagine plenty of folks wouldn’t mind our society being a […]

If you’ve driven by the Low Water Bridge recently, you probably have seen a good bit of bulldozer activity and wondered what exactly was happening to this beautiful natural area. The work is being undertaken with a promising objective in mind. The LandTrust of Central N.C. is partnering with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to […]

Many birds lead lifestyles of the rich and famous – they “summer” in one location and “winter” in another. After nesting in the United States, some birds depart for second homes in South America or the Caribbean. Others are content to travel no farther than the Uwharries in the N.C. Piedmont. Migration is a risky […]

The largest known stand of old-growth Piedmont longleaf pine remaining in the state will be preserved as an education forest, protected from development. The LandTrust for Central North Carolina and the N.C. Zoological Park last month completed their purchase of the 116-acre property in northern Montgomery County. Longleaf pine forests historically covered more than 90 […]

“Frank Lloyd Wright described vernacular architecture as ‘folk building growing in response to actual needs, fitted into environment…’  Early settlers to the Piedmont – English, Scots-Irish, and German – arrived with traditional European building styles in mind, but they quickly adapted them to our local conditions.  As such, the old farmhouses in the Uwharries became […]

It’s an unfortunate fact of life for birders in the Uwharries – spring migration peaks as trees come into full leaf. Trying to identify palm-sized birds flitting through the canopy can lead to a serious case of “warbler neck.” If you like to bird along the Uwharrie River, as I do, you also risk ruining […]

Every spring, I walk along scanning the forest floor for wildflowers. Sometimes I light on an odd arrangement of blossoms. It takes a few seconds for my mind to shift gears. I finally realize the flowers aren’t attached to plants on the ground – they’ve dropped from vines twining through the canopy. Over the next […]

We’ve finally had enough rain this spring to fill up the ephemeral pools for amphibian breeding, and (for those of you more adventure-seeking outdoors people) also to create enough flow in our rivers for kayak trips to begin. I haven’t yet made my first inaugural trip of 2011 on the Uwharrie River, but rest assured […]

Chickens are all the rage these days. All the fashionable neighborhoods have them. I recently met a gentleman who’d built a stately coop behind his home in Charlotte’s Myers Park. In Raleigh, residents flaunt their urban flocks during the annual Hen-side the Beltline Tour de Coop. I know these things because my husband has long […]

As I write this article, we’re in the wake of our second major snowstorm this season – several inches of pretty snow capped with an ugly layer of ice. I’m stuck in a condo in Atlanta, negotiating slippery sidewalks with an elderly terrier. My plans to drive up to the Uwharries for the week are […]