Nature

No other wild animal in the Appalachians is as recognizable as the white-tail deer. Whether a mature buck with splendid antlers, a graceful doe, or a spotted fawn running with it's mother, the white-tail deer is one of the most popular animals.
Bittersweet is a woody vine that produces berries in a yellow casing that open up to reveal red berries in the fall.

If you drive or walk through the Appalachian Mountains, you are sure to cross paths with wild turkeys most any time of year. They are more afraid of you than you may be of them — and they have good reason to be afraid, especially during the spring hunting time that extends from mid-April to mid-May, when hunters can bag up to two of the bearded male birds in the season.

Good Eats
Can woolly worms predict the weather? Woolly worms are a tiger moth caterpillar. Legend has it that they can determine if the coming winter will be mild or harsh.

Queen Anne’s Lace is a flower found all over the Appalachians. You’ll see them driving to work along the roadsides and in your neighbor’s flower gardens. Queen Anne’s Lace, also called “Wild Carrot,” is a common plant found abundantly in dry fields, ditches, and open areas. The crocheted doily-looking plant was first introduced into the U.S. from Europe. The carrots you eat today once were cultivated from this plant.

But the Queen has her downside. She harbors tiny pests called chiggers.

Pesky Little Pests

Box turtles are a common sight in the Southern Appalachians when the southern air starts to get steamy. As the weather gets colder, usually in mid-October, box turtles start looking for a place to hibernate. The Eastern box turtle found in North Carolina is on the “vulnerable” list of endangered species, so watch out when you’re driving and take care not to disturb nests if you find their eggs.

Giving Turtles a New Home

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