Tag: Wildflowers
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Permanent Camp: Skunk Goldenrod
By George Ellison with illustration by Elizabeth Ellison
Have you ever been enjoying a walk along a mountain trail when you suddenly encountered a musky unpleasant smell? I've learned to consider five likely sources: bear scat, wild boar, carrion vine, galax, or goldenrod.
Goldenrod?
Yes, if you’re walking in the higher elevations
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Permanent Camp: Mountain Laurel
Story by George Ellison with illustration by Elizabeth Ellison
In order to accomplish pollination, flowering plants have been outwitting, beguiling, and utilizing insects for millions of years. One of the more interesting insect-flower relationships was forged between mountain laurel and its insect visitors.
As we are presently in the
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Writer NOT in Residence: When You Take A Step Back, Yet Move Forward
Story and images by Sue Wasserman
Have you ever heard the expression “when the student is ready the teacher appears?” A healer, who became a dear friend and mentor, shared this wisdom from Lao Tzu many years ago. Back then, however, I always assumed the teacher would be human.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined my
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Writer NOT in Residence: Where Rugged and Tender Meet in the Middle
Story and images by Sue Wasserman
When my niece was a tiny tot, I could always count on her to say, “Be careful of the woots and wocks” whenever we set out on a trail. While her squeaky tones made me chuckle, her advice was sound.
One of the things I appreciate most about hiking is the often-rugged terrain that challenges me in
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Image for the Asking: Wildflower National Park
Story and image by Don McGowan
Sometimes you can’t help but have the feeling that a name could easily have gone a different way. Take, for example, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is quite true, as was no doubt noticed by the Tsalagi People for thousands of years, that the valleys and coves of these beautiful old mountains are
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Video feature: A Specialized Group of Wildflowers, Spring Ephemerals
By Valerie Polk, GSMA Videographer and Publications Associate
Spring ephemerals are one of nature's first signs of spring in the Smokies. They emerge just as winter begins to loosen its grip, and some can be seen popping out of the ground as early as February, March and into April. In lower elevations, they dwindle by May and are gone by June,
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GSMA Writer NOT in Residence: Let Your Imagination Be Your Guide
By Sue Wasserman
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Those words from Albert Einstein adorn a whimsical piece of folk art that sits above my bathtub, inspiring me in the mornings and providing peaceful thoughts at the end of the day. They resonate most when I’m wandering in nature’s oh-so-creative midst.
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Video Feature: Cades Cove, First Week of Spring
By Valerie Polk, GSMA Videographer and Publications Associate
We know you are missing your favorite places more than ever, and there's a good chance that Cades Cove is one of those places that is near and dear to your heart. Maybe this short video from the Cove from a few years back will help. It was the first week of spring in 2015 when I
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Writer Not in Residence: Being Present in the Now
By Sue Wasserman
The difference between “here” and “there” is “now.”
The thought struck me as I remembered an experience last year in the Greenbrier section of the park. I had been told the Porter Creek Trail was rich in early spring wildflowers. Shortly after setting out, I met Mountain Mike, a well-
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Video feature: It's Dogwood Time!
By Valerie Polk, GSMA Videographer and Publications Associate
Of the park's more than 100 native tree species, perhaps none is more celebrated than the flowering dogwood. It's been called America's best-loved flowering tree, and each year when its branches fill with white, we are reminded that spring has come to the Smokies.
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