(A common ribbon snake) By DWR Snake and Lizard Guide Snakes occur in many places, including yards and homes in rural and suburban areas. Most species are small and secretive and are seldom seen by homeowners, but larger snakes can create quite a commotion. If you live near a creek, woods, or fields, snakes may occasionally show up in your yard. The best way to deal with snakes is to educate … [Read more...]
“Who” Is It?
Owls are cool. My son has a bunch near his house in midtown Atlanta. I suppose they have lots of mice and rats there, because that’s what owls like to eat. Most of my dealings with owls have come at first light while on spring gobbler hunts. Gobblers will often answer to an owl’s hoot, which gives the hunter an idea as to the whereabouts of the turkey. I have seen only 2 or 3 owls in … [Read more...]
Turtle Time
They are out and about, turtles that is, and all they ask is a little privacy and maybe a lift across a busy road or highway. Below are some of the ways the DWR suggests helping conserve and protect our turtles. Don’t take them home. Leave wild turtles in the wild. Don’t relocate turtles. If safe, move it off the road in the direction it’s moving. Discard fishing … [Read more...]
Morel Time
I had never eaten a morel until my old friend Carl Oakes asked if I wanted a few. Not wanting to offend, I said, “Sure,” but I had no idea what they were or what to do with the strange looking spores. Later I found out that morels, wild mushrooms, were mountain delicacies and highly desirable. On several occasions since then, I have taken to the hills and picked them myself. Morels, though, can … [Read more...]
Be Aware of The Alpha-Gal Tick
By Emily Strother In 2019, I contracted a red meat allergy–known as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) or allergy—from a tick bite I got while hunting turkeys that spring. As a gal who enjoys hunting and experimenting with wild game in the kitchen, realizing that I could no longer consume venison or other mammal meat was a hard pill to swallow. Besides a fried piece of deer tenderloin over the … [Read more...]
Red Bellied Woodpeckers
Looks like we’ll have a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers nesting in a cavity of an old white maple in the back of our yard. I saw them swoop that way this morning and there are lots of hollow places in that old tree from which to choose a nesting site. Many people confuse the Red-bellied Woodpecker with the less common Red-headed Woodpeckers. Red-bellied Woodpeckers do have red heads, but not … [Read more...]
Lenten Rose in Bloom
On Feb. 1 our Lenten Rose patch was in bloom. What a beautiful, wonderful plant. Several years ago, Nancy was trying to figure out what to do with the root-studded and mostly shady space beneath our old maple tree in the back yard. She planted a few hostas and they did well, but she wanted some color and could find few colorful plants that could bloom without a lot of sun. My son, … [Read more...]
Let Sleeping Bears Lie
This is the time of year when the Game Department advises us that if we are out and about in February and run across a bear sleeping in a den to leave it alone. Really? I figured if I saw one, I’d climb down and harass him or her and then see if I could run fast enough to escape. Au contraire, I would absolutely leave a bear alone if I saw it in a hole in the ground, beneath an old … [Read more...]
A Bumper Crop of Pine Cones
There were once 4 large pine trees behind our fence line. There are now two, but last fall they literally rained down pine cones. We have lived in our house for 50 years and I have never seen so many pine cones. There were hundreds of cones in our yard and ten times that many directly beneath the huge trees. I played golf at Greene Hills last week and noticed that the fairways and the … [Read more...]
Oh, Deer!
It’s hard to drive 5 miles without seeing a crumpled up, dead deer along the side of the road. That’s because we are in peak season - the deer are in rut. Bucks are chasing does and they run across roads after the enticing females and worry about cars and trucks later. Some say to watch out for deer in the headlights, but I say just watch out. Recent studies say that Virginia is now the 11th … [Read more...]
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