A few weeks back, there was a fox drinking from the birdbath in my front yard at mid-day, and he was covered with mange. We haven’t seen that particular animal since, but just this week, we have seen two more foxes, this time in our back yard, and again, at or near mid-day. One was a grown fox with a full coat, while the other appeared to be a younger animal with a touch of mange. In … [Read more...]

  (Juvenile Northern Black Racer, photo by John White)     Here’s a comforting thought. It’s baby snake season. The little slithery guys are out there in large numbers, waiting for an opportunity to scare the bejeezus out of approximately half the human population. I don’t mind snakes, as long as I can see them. It’s the ones I don’t see that cause concern. D. … [Read more...]

  Travelling along our roads and highways, I have recently taken a serious interest in the many lovely wild plants we routinely see. Some are overwhelming in beauty, and none were planted. They are as wild as the wind. And the wind is responsible for planting many of them, most notably the thistles. Thistles include a wide range of plants known for their sharp spines and prickles. These … [Read more...]

“There is a fox drinking water out of the bird bath,” Nancy said. “Is Elvis with him,” I asked. But there was a fox drinking water in our front yard in the middle of the day. And he had very little hair on most of his skinny body. This would be the second fox I’ve seen recently in broad daylight in need of some serious Rogaine. The other mangy animal was at the first hole at Meadowcreek … [Read more...]

Where has all the milkweed gone? Poisoned by farmers, everyone. Not only farmers, but homeowners, highway departments, park superintendents, school yard landscapers – all are in the milkweed eradication business. It’s a weed, you see, and it must go. But take away the milkweed and you take away one of the most beautiful creatures that has ever graced this planet. Monarch butterflies. Without … [Read more...]

  Many of those beautiful golden plants we see now along our roads are in the goldenrod (Soilidago) family. That means coughing and sneezing, right? No, that’s incorrect. There is a misconception that goldenrod is a prime cause for hay fever, but it’s not goldenrod. It’s ragweed which is the real culprit. Goldenrod and ragweed bloom at about the same time. But ragweed pollen is blown … [Read more...]

Since I spotted a vivid orange Butterfly Weed growing by the roadside a few weeks back, I have become captivated by the many beautiful flowers and weeds seemingly growing wild along our highways and byways. Not only are they beautiful, but most have medicinal uses and interesting backgrounds. Last week I noticed another beauty. As best I can tell, it’s a Joe Pye Weed, a lovely soft-purple plant … [Read more...]

Lots of those pretty flowers and weeds we see alongside our roads and highways are “come-heres”, native to other countries – Europe, Asia, Africa and the like, but the friendly little Black-eyed Susans are as American as apple pie. They are true natives of North America and we have had a bumper crop of the yellow beauties this summer. There are a number of different type of the Rudbeckvia … [Read more...]

As I continue to travel Virginia’s highways and back roads – ever on the look for colorful weeds and plants – I have noticed an abundance of red clover, especially earlier in the summer. Red clover brings back lots of memories. As a boy in Lewisburg, WV, I was an avid quail hunter. Anytime we found a field of clover – used by West Virginia farmers for hay – there were quail nearby. Rabbits, too. … [Read more...]

We were somewhere near the Pulaski exit on I-81 when I saw a large cluster of brilliant yellow flowers along the side of the highway. They were magnificent, yet, like many beautiful things in nature, they were just weeds. They are common mullein, a species native to Europe, Africa and Asia, but introduced to America. You wouldn’t imagine such a beautiful bloom on such a strange plant, but the … [Read more...]