Winter Tolerant

Top Photo: Fatsia Japonica growing on Dinosaur Trail, Museum of Life and Science. Our two late fall and winter blooming plants on the Dinosaur Trail are flowering, Fatsia and Mahonia. Neither are native plants but have been planted on the trail as examples, or at least relatives, of plants that were common at the time dinosaurs may have populated the area. There are also ginkgo trees and several palms along the way. On mild winter days you may see honeyRead more

Snow

Top Photo: Wetlands with ice and a sprinkling of snow. When it snows here in the Piedmont, it’s always a rush to get out to photograph the uniqueness of the event. It doesn’t snow often and when it does the snow is usually gone within a day or two. Sometimes it’s gone within hours. Snows here are short and sweet. Here’s some photos from this morning (Saturday 1/29/22) before it all disappeared. And finally, three dinosaurs. Enjoy it while itRead more

The Late Cretaceous

It was still early, the Museum hadn’t opened its doors yet. As I rounded the corner and entered the Dinosaur Trail I was greeted by a large, resting, red-brown creature sitting in front of a wall of boulders. It was a Parasaurolophus. I’m not sure of the behavior of a Parasaurolophus during the Late Cretaceous Period, but this one was and is rather docile. In fact, it’s the only dinosaur on our Dino Trail that we let the public touch. OnRead more

Dino Quiz

When biologists conduct wildlife surveys they sometimes have to rely on only brief glimpses of their subject in order to document them. A birder often only gets a quick look at a bird, and then only a small part of the bird, in order to identify it. Many times, it’s only a flash of a wing, the head, or even the tail that’s visible as the bird moves around in the dense brush, or flies away only to duck downRead more