Top Photo: Acorns are falling. Three years ago I noted here in this blog that “Some of our white oaks are producing a bumper crop of acorns this fall.” It’s happening again. But it seems there are more than just some of our white oaks producing acorns by the bushel. They all seem to be producing fruit in numbers. At one point it sounded as though it was raining as the acorns were steadily dropping to the ground. There areRead more
Posts filed in: Season
Water Snake
Top Photo: Northern water snake. Where there’s water there’s likely to be water snakes. If there are fish, frogs and tadpoles present the likelihood of snakes on the scene goes way up. If you live here on the Carolina Piedmont the snake you see is almost sure to be a northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon). In our little wetland at the Museum of Life and Science, I’ve never seen anything but northern water snakes. There are at least eight otherRead more
Raccoons in the Wetlands
Top Photo: Eyeshine from two raccoons about to climb up on the Floating Walkway in Explore the Wild. It’s a well known fact that raccoons use the floating walkway in Explore the Wild to get around the wetlands, they leave tracks for me to find every night. Otters use the walkway as well. Besides their foot prints, otters also leave behind signage in the form of scat, usually on the rocks next to the walkway, or on the walkway itself.Read more
Farewell to the Oka and Martha Pack
Top Photo: Red Wolf family in September 2025 at Museum of Life and Science before departing for Wolf Conservation Center. Martha on the left, Oka on the right and Ember, Proton, and Scuppernong in the middle. Oka and Martha came to us through the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY in the fall of 2024. They’ll be heading back to their old stomping grounds this fall, November to be exact. This, after having a litter of three strong andRead more
Chicken Mushroom, Rare Wren, Odd Sweetgum, Active Tadpoles and Basking Turtles
Top Photo: Chicken of the woods. Chicken of the woods is a shelf mushroom which grows directly from dead wood. It does not have stems or stalks, and it’s a polypore, meaning it has numerous pores on the underside of its caps or shelves rather than gills to spread its spores. This mushroom may be bright yellow or orange when fresh but may fade to white or tan as it ages. It’s edible. However, while doing research, I found it’sRead more
Monarchs Passing Through
Top Photo: Female monarch butterfly stops to refuel on long journey south of the border. It’s that time of year when masses of monarch butterflies trek south, more specifically southwest, to their wintering grounds in the fir forests of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico. On their way they may stop to nectar and even lay eggs so that a new generation of monarchs can complete the journey, overwinter in the Mexican highlands and head back north theRead more
From Muscadines to Silk Moths
Top Photo: Muscadine grapes ripening on the vine. Muscadine grapes are native to the southeast and are a common and welcomed plant here at the museum. Many birds and mammals including cardinals, robins, and turkeys, groundhogs, gray fox, and humans eat the fruit. There are many vines throughout the museum grounds. If you can reach the grapes as they grow on the vine, it’s worth it to grab a few for yourself before they’re all gone. Cardinal flower is bloomingRead more
Colors
Top Photo: Snowberry clearwing hovers at butterfly bush flower spike in Butterfly House Outdoor Garden. Snowberry clearwing moths are a type of strong flying sphinx moth commonly seen hovering at flowers to sip nectar. They’re diurnal moths and resemble small hummingbirds or bees as they visit the flowers seeking nourishment. They are responsible for pollinating a large number of flowers, especially deep tubular flowers through the action of their long, sturdy, probing proboscis and hairy body which transfers pollen fromRead more
The End is Near, Summer That is
Top Photo: Ripening persimmon. There are many persimmon trees in and around our wetlands. The fruit is fast ripening. Much of the fruit will drop into the water. Fret not, fruit that plops into the water is not wasted. Our population of sliders in the wetlands will take care of whatever falls from the trees and into the water. An interesting fact about persimmons, they make excellent catfish bait. There are no catfish in our pond but if you liveRead more