Natural History of Raleigh Photos

Garden Spider Goes Quadruple!

2011-11-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

A garden spider, Argiope aurantia, set up shop in our kitchen window and had a wonderful summer and fall. Still productive (with some feeding help from us) in late November, it amazed us by laying its 4th egg sac.

egg sacs

weaving number four

count 'em - one, two, three four!

Raleigh Nature post on this garden spider

Mushroom Madness

2010-09-12T18:46:00.001-07:00

Sporadic but heavy rains have brought a plethora of mushrooms to Raleigh!

Marsh Creek Park mushrooms

Milburnie landfill meadow mushrooms

Decayed faerie ring at the Capitol

Ancient shelf shroom at Sadlacks (NE parking lot)

Baby shelf shrooms on my tomatillo cage

Cedar Hills Park

Below is a monster from my school, TFA.

Lots of mushrooms after sporadic but heavy rains this summer.

Marsh Creek Park Expansion

2010-08-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

Off New Hope Road is Marsh Creek Park, which has recently added a recreational center and skate park.
The setting is typical Piedmont farmland after 50-60 years - upland pines and chestnut oaks with a slope down to water - though not Marsh Creek. the park is named for Marsh Creek Road, which begins just across New Hope.
The skate park is impressive and quite popular.

Just below the skate park is a rain garden with a beautiful stand of Joe-Pye-weed as seen below.

The new center has a large meadow beside it and its large parking areas have nice ecotone areas, though stilt grass is fast invading.

The microstegia - stilt grass or bamboo grass, is in the center.

This is a lower field, and through the trees are headwaters and a nice small pond.

Marsh Creek post on Raleigh Nature

Back to Raleigh Nature

Pigeon House Re-hab Helps Edna Metz Wells Park

2010-04-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

A nice piece of graffiti has garnered some media attention for the City rehabilitation project taking place just above Edna Metz Wells Park along Smallwood Drive. The stretch represents the headwaters of Pigeon House Branch, which was diverted, ditched and straightened during the construction of Cameron Village.

This is the current view of Edna Metz, but as you can see below, all is well in the interior.

The entrance off Park Drive.

The small park between East and West Forest drive just above Edna Metz.

This is the beginning of work on the Smallwood section. They added large boulders, retention terraces and other measures to complicate and slow down the flows after heavy rains and restore some biodiversity to this section of the creek.

The landscape is recovering quickly, as you can see be comparing this image with the one below from a month ago.

Pigeon House Branch crosses Clark into Edna Metz Wells Park.

Now here is the graffiti, at the outlet into the park.

Edie Sedgwick's portrait

My record tulip tree inside the beltline inside Edna Metz.

excellent Goodnight, Raleigh post about the portrait

Raleigh Nature article on the subject

Raleigh Nature main site

Downed Tree Highlights Snowy Greenway Walk

2010-02-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

When the lovely, harmless 3 inch fluff ended on a Saturday morning, I took off for my favorite sight-seeing greenway, Buckeye Trail from Milburnie Road. At the edge of Rollingwood, Crabtree has carved out a tall bluff (at least for this part of Raleigh), and at the end of this picture post you will see a snowy tree which has fallen off this bluff on to the greenway.

Longview Branch at Mulburnie after snow February 12-13, 2010.

Longview Branch upstream from Milburnie greenway bridge.

Landfill meadow at Milburnie Road greenway.

Snowy slope on Buckeye Trail.

Deer and coon tracks after February snows at lanfill meadow on Buckeye Trail.

Pine and beech off Buckeye Trail.

Brook from Rollingwood slope enters Long Branch off Buckeye Trail.

Oak stump on Buckeye Trail

This tree had a monstrously huge box elder beetle gall on its side before being cut down.

(return to) Raleigh Nature snow post

Lassiter Mill Dam with High Water

2009-12-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

This clip was taken at Lassiter Mill dam in Raleigh on Friday December 4th after scattered and sometimes torrential rains during the week.

Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island

2009-07-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

bald eagle on Bar Harbor island

Cara and I went to Bar Harbor the last week in June, staying at Emory's Cottages on upper Frenchman's Bay. We visited Acadia National Park and covered a lot of the less famous features of Mount Desert Island as well. Below is the Bass Harbor lighthouse, located at the southeast corner of the island. This post, part one of two, covers the interior of the island and views from Cadillac Mountain. Part Two covers our cottage's beach, our boat trips and Indian Point nature preserve. The naturalist essay based on these pictures is at Raleigh Nature.

Don't forget - all pics click to enlarge!

John Dancy-Jones (author) at Bass Harbor, Maine

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Otter Cliffs by Cara Dancy-Jones

scoters off Otter Cliffs

Thunder Hole

hottest tourist spot in Acadia National Park

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Acadia interior creek

close-up of beaver dam by Cara

frog in Abbe' Garden, Acadia National park

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Trail up Dorr Mountain, named for the founder of Acadia National Park. He, Rockefeller and others just bought up the island farm by farm and gave it to the Park.

Cara on Dorr Mountain trail

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We had a wonderful carriage ride in Acadia National Park, on some of the 47 miles of carriage roads designed and built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., whose anti-automobile covenant on his magnificent donation protects the park to this day. Our driver was a horseman from Pennsylvania who uses these horses for logging in the winter and drives eight of them to Acadia each summer for some productive exercise!

Mr. Rockefellers's Depression bridge

carriage ride brook by Cara

the Bubble Mountains

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Cara and I are both point-n-shoot folks, but she has a better camera and a wonderful eye for natural beauty. This "photo painting" is her trimmed zoom of some cliff flowers. All of the photos she took in this post are clearly labeled so. Thanks, baby-baby!

bearberries by Cara

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Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park

summit of Cadillac Mountain

Acadia National Park, Maine

Cadillac Mountain granite

Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain

Porcupine Islands from Cadillac Mountain

Otter Point from Cadillac Mountain

This is upper Frenchman's Bay from Cadillac Mountain. We stayed at Sand Point, the triangular protrusion just to the right of center. That beach and other adventures from our week at Bar Harbor are covered in Part Two of this photo post.

return to Raleigh Nature

Acadia and Mount Desert Island, Part Two

2009-07-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Cara and I spent the last week of June at Mount Desert Island and Bar Harbor, Maine. We stayed at Emory's Cottages on Sand Point of Frenchman's Bay. This view of low tide is from the shore of our cottage site. This second picture post covers Sand Point, our boat trips, and Indian Point nature preserve.

sunset kayakers on Frenchman's Bay

Cara's tidal pool close-up

starfish pictures by Cara

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Sand Point cave

Sand Point cliff with natural bridge

Sand Point geology

Mount Desert Island, Maine

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Bar Harbor schooner

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Great Head from whalewatching boat

Mount Desert Island, Maine

Bar Harbor island geology

natural bridge

bald eagle on Bar Harbor island

Egg Island lighthouse, Bar Harbor, Maine

Egg Island seals

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oceangoing bird

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Mount Desert Rock, Maine

Lighthouse is 25 miles out to sea.

grey seal in water

Cara's seal picture

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Indain Point, home to largest population

of harbor seals north of Boston.

Indian Point Nature Preserve

Mount Desert Island, Maine

old man's beard by Cara

dock meadow at Indian Point

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red beech at Seal Harbor, Maine

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lobster trap display

pregnant lobster at hatchery

Oceanarium, Bar Harbor, Maine

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Long Pond from a canoe
Acadia National Park

Long Pond from marshy area

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Cara's cormorant

foggy island in Bar Harbor

Somes Sound waterfall

return to Raleigh Nature

Upper Marsh Creek From Spring Forest to Brentwood

2009-04-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

Marsh Creek is a long tributary of Crabtree creek that runs over 5 miles from Spring Forest and Falls of the Neuse road SE to Crabtree at Yonkers Road beside the Beltline. With a quite unauspiscious beginning, it makes its way through a variety of neighborhoods before creating a large wetland where it meets Crabtree Creek. These pictures follow the creek from its headwaters (seen just below) to Brentwood Park, just west of Capital Boulevard.

Capital Boulevard glimpsed from Marsh Creek in Brentwood.

Return to Raleigh Nature post

March Snow on Buckeye Trail

2009-03-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

Edge of landfill meadow at east end of Buckeye Trail.

baby beeches under pines

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Back home in Oakwood!

Pigeon House Branch Continued

2009-02-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Pigeon House Branch is a much-abused creek that drains the northwestern quadrant of downtown Raleigh. It criss-crosses Capital Boulevard from Peace Street to Crabtree Boulevard, and these pictures trace that path down to its mouth at Crabtree Creek.

The stone culvert just north of Peace Street.

Pigeon House is under there somewhere!

The 42 " pipe that delivers water from Fletcher Park to Pigeon House Branch.

Pigeon House between Capital and West Street.

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The earlier post covers Pigeon House from the Light Tower to Dennis Avenue.

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Pigeon House Branch at Johnny's Motel on Capital.

Pigeon at Flea Market on Capital Blvd.

Pigeon House under Crabtree Blvd at Capital.

Pigeon House at Sherwin-Williams on Crabtree Blvd.

Pigeon House Branch beside Crabtree Blvd., across from greenway parking lot.

Above, the mouth of Pigeon House at Crabtree from the greenway deck. Turning, you face Raleigh Swamp and the greenway deck below.

Raleigh Nature posts on Pigeon house Branch.

You are at the photo album. Return to Raleigh Nature

Midwinter Beech Luminaries

2009-01-31T17:55:00.000-08:00

At the easternmost tip of Raleigh's greenways, Buckeye Trail at Milburnie Road, the young beeches, which keep their old leaves through the winter, look like luminaries spread through the flat lowland off this section of greenway. These pictures don't really capture the effect - I'll keep trying!

Young beech tree

Fletcher Park Water Garden

2009-01-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

Fletcher Park's new water garden was recently finished.

The mallard ducks have already found the lowest and largest pool, which is part of a sequence designed to slow and filter water headed down to Pigeon House Branch.

Culvert feeds from baseball field.

The "spring-fed creek." (seep)

Irrigated lily garden.

Here is where the water exits down to Pigeon House Branch.

Pigeon House Branch west of Capital Blvd.

The Redbird sculpture at Fletcher Park.

Raleigh Nature post on Fletcher Park's new water garden.

Raleigh Nature

Pigeon House Creek

2008-11-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

A great blue heron browses a granite outcrop on Pigeon House Creek at Capital Boulevard. Pigeon House has headwaters at Edna Metz Park and Cameron Village and follows Capital Boulevard east after being culverted through much of its path through Cameron Park and down Johnson Street.

Notice the streamwatch unit here at Cameron Village. Underground are the headwaters.

Edna Metz Park

Looking east from Edna Metz.

Pigeon House flows under a porch in Cameron Park.

Pigeon House beside Johnson Street.

West Street and Dortch by the city salt barn.

Wade Ave. ramp off Capital

Fletcher Park's waters join Pigeon House.

Capital Boulevard light tower

Pigeon House Creek at Watkins Grill on Louisburg Rd.

Below, Pigeon House Creek crosses under Capital Blvd at Dennis Ave.

Raleigh Nature posts on Pigeon house Branch

return tomain blog: Raleigh Nature

August Mountain Trip

2008-10-19T12:26:00.001-07:00

I posted these deer pictures at Raleigh Nature as an antidote to some ranting about Ward Transformers and the PCB mess. Below is more from the trip that provided the images.

Cara and I camped at Doughton Park this August, browsing the Parkway up just
past the Virginia line. There is a related photo post over at Pecans &
Mistletoe about the Brinegar Cabin and homestead. The turkey above was in
one of the farm fields common on this stretch of Parkway.

Above is a view of monandnocks rising from the Piedmont as seen from the Blue Ridge escarpment. Below is a selection of images from our hikes, including a large set of mushrooms.

a pair of walking sticks

a final look at the lovely fawn

Fallon Park

2008-09-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

Fallon Park, just northeast of Five Points, and sloping with its long narrow shape down to Crabtree Creek at Anderson Drive, is a long necklace in Raleigh's park jewels. The remains of a small mill structure lend even more interest to a wonderful rockfall along the creek that defines the park.

The headwaters of Fallon Creek arise in the middle of the very plush neighborhood
along White Oak Road.

Above are rockpools that my kids explored with great joy.

The smaller rocks of the upper park.

greenway bridge and mill site

mill site

Fallon Park neighborhood

lower park

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return to Raleigh Nature

Hannah Floods Middle Crabtree Greenway

2008-09-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

Rain from Tropical Storm Hannah flooded Crabtree Creek at Hodges Road and Atlantic Avenue. The creek also submerged several section of the Middle Creek section of the Raleigh greenway.

At the back of the picture is a greenway bridge. You are looking at greeenway - Crabtree Creek is to the right of the trees, out of the picture.

Ths city worker was gauging the rate of the water's rise.

This structure protects the greenway as it passes under a railroad line.

This meadow givess access to the greenway beside the Longbranch.

TThe greenway just east of wake Forest Road.

Crabtree at Wake Forest Road

Return to Raleigh Nature

Fletcher Park water feeds Pigeon House

2008-08-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

Redbird sculpture at Fletcher Park

The new water park being constructed at Fletcher Park between Glenwood Avenue and St. Mary's Street just south of Wade Avenue will filter and slow water as it flows east toward Pigeon House Creek.
Construction for water park

Above is the future outlet to Pigeon House Creek

upper end of new water park

Below: Pigeon House at Capital Boulevard

Return to Raleigh Nature

PFI tours the Brevard fault

2008-07-31T06:31:00.000-07:00

The Pisgah Forest Institute provided workshops and mountain adventures to 2 dozen elementary educators in June 2008.

Below is Caeser's Head in the South Carolina park of that name.

The view from Caeser's Head shows the Piedmont vista from the scarf of the Blue Ridge.

Tablerock Mountain

A leap from Hooker Falls in Dupont State Park.

High Falls

Triple Falls in low water

The Little River in quiet mode.

Tree on a fault block.

Folded gneiss near top of wall. Detail below.

Vultures above trout fishery on Davidson River.

Northern water snake.

Hemlock infested with wooly alegid (white spots).

Rattlesnake plantain.

Elephant ear hydrangea.

"Straightened" creek on Brevard campus. Rehabilitated creek images below.

One of the famous white squirrels of Brevard.
White Squirrel Photo Album

Brevard Music Center

Return to Raleigh Nature essay

Garner to Gresham's - Person Street tour

2008-07-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

If you start at Highway 50 and Timber Drive in Garner, you can drive a thoroughfare from here through downtown Raleigh out to Gresham's lake at Capital and 540. Timber to Hammond to Person to Wake Forest to Atlantic to Old Wake Forest - this long stretch is featured at Raleigh Nature in a "Straight Streets" post.

Above is the dead end of Timber, just across 50. The south end of Garner is just full of loblollies!

Below is Wildcat Creek as it crosses Hammond.

Micostegia off Hammond

greenway at cypress bog from Hammond

No Hand King at person and MLK Blvd.

Guv's Mansion and garden

Person Street features Marsh Woodwinds and the Mordecai House.

Person used to connect to Wake Forest Rd. here.

Dangerous Atlantic Ave bridge

Greenway under Atlantic

At the north end, this stretch is just short of Gresham's lake, where Paul now stands.

return to Raleigh Nature post

Continental Divide down to the Piedmont

2008-06-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Continental Divide on 40

Blasting tubes for the crest of the Continental Divide

South Mountains monadnock

South Mountains development

South Mountain State Park

Mid Crabtree Owl and Snapper eggs

2008-06-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Barn owl off deck of Middle Crabtree's greenway

Turtles basking on this same stretch

This is the rock that turns Crabtree Creek at Capital Boulevard

The owl is in this scene somewhere. Below is a female snapping turtle laying eggs.

The family of one of my students had a female snapper crawl up into a sandy area near their backyard creek and lay some eggs.

Wakefield Middle School Ecology Club

2008-05-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

The Raleigh Naturalist get-up shown at Wakefield MS.

The large map is being color-coded to delineate the watersheds.

The school is on a lovely site near the Falls Lake dam. Below are some nature images from their campus.

These blackberries will be tasting good by mid-summer!

This nifty rockfall includes the most interesting "man-made conglomerate" I've seen - really pretty high-iron rock encased in cement.

return to Raleigh Nature

Spring Flowerings

2008-04-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

Henbit at Lassiter Mill

front yard volunteers

Lady Banks on fern

buttercups on Hodges Road

Atamasca Lily stand on Buckeye Trail

back to Raleigh Nature

Spring in Asheville

2008-04-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Above is Reed Creek flowing through The Botanical Garden at Asheville. Adjacent to campus, it holds over 700 plant species. The campus itself has a pretty good show of flowering trees in the spring.

Virginia bluebells

violets

Roadside flowers by the French Broad River

Mayapples by seep

return to Raleigh Nature

Fletcher Park's new project

2008-03-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

The basin of the new water garden, which will retain and filter the water headed toward Pigeon House Creek.

The driveway of a street that edges Fletcher.

Fletcher Park off St Mary's Street

amphitheatre

upper terrace

red oak

white oak

Fletcher water garden project at top

Fletcher water garden site

Raleigh Nature (return to main site)

Bike Trails RIP - greenway buffer loss

2008-03-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here is my image of what Joe Miller described as the mohawk effect

Looking from the new development at the south end of Six Forks.

The wholesale destruction of the old farm between Atlantic Acenue and Capital Boulevard, north of hodges. The tent below is home to quite a few fellows, I'm told, and is generating the trash pile below that.

trash pile near Atlantic Ave swamp tent

troublesome hillside deck off Capital Blvd

bog behind Atlantic Ave. swamp, from greenway deck

Atlantic-Capital greenway, looking toward beltline ramp

Lonnie Poole golf course construction

2008-02-10T08:08:00.001-08:00

The site for the new golf course on NCSU's Centennial Campus. These hillsides surround Lake Raleigh and a wooded tract which is a university study area.

Above,from the end of Centennial Blvd looking north. Below, from the magnet school area looking south.

Above, looking toward south Lake Wheeler Road. Below, the swath closest to the lake, next to the natural study area close to Trailwood.

back to Centennial golf course essay

at The Natural History of Raleigh

Buckeye at Milburnie

2008-01-20T19:04:00.001-08:00

Boulders at Buckeye

Crabtree Creek at Milburnie Road

Oak gall

oak gall

shelf mushrooms

slime mold

Cameron Village Hawks

2008-01-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

Cameron Village Hawks

Welcome to the Natural History of Raleigh Photo Archive!

2007-12-30T17:54:00.001-08:00

The greenway deck off Capital Boulevard looks toward Atlantic Avenue. Below is the rock that turns Crabtree Creek in its path on this stretch. The greenway dominates these blogs but there are lots of surprises - browse away and thanks for coming!

Light on a Flower

2007-12-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

Whether a spray of turtles or a lonely bloom, light is amazing and revealing.

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Heading and Personal Picks

2007-12-19T17:41:00.001-08:00

Blue-eyed grass, my favorite wildflower

Lady Banks chaos in the Raleigh naturalist's front yard

Jaycee Lily Garden

2007-12-19T08:19:00.001-08:00

Raleigh Swamp Tour

2007-12-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

Raleigh Swamp is the local nickname for this expanse off Raleigh Boulevard. A massive boardwalk with gondola connects Buckeye Trail with Capital Boulevard.

Snapper and snake at Fletcher Academy

2007-12-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

This is THE Snapper that helped me write my book.

Yates Mill pond

2007-12-18T06:56:00.000-08:00

Yates Mill has a wonderful tree-labeled walk around the pond. But the neatest stuff is in the wet meadow valley around a ridge from the main pond.

This huge willow oak is on the nature walk through the upwaters.

Google Earth image of my beloved Crabtree

2007-12-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

This is an image of Buckeye Trail and the eastern curve of Crabtree Creek. I use it as a single image from this copyrighted source because it shows my childhood haunts, my favorite section of greenway, and the largest haven for wildlife inside the beltline. Thank you, Google Earth!

Marsh Creek at Brentwood

2007-12-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

Marsh Creek divides the elementary school and park properties, following another sewer line toward Capital Boulevard.
An upstream tributary makes this neighborhood pond at Huntleigh Dr.

Meadow off Sunnybrook

2007-12-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

This meadow at the huge undeveloped farm northeast of Poole Road and Sunnybrook can't last long. But the site contains two ponds, one large enough to called Jones Lake, and remnants of the other half of the pecan grove showcased across the beltline at the county park.

looking down Jones Lake dam road

Jones Lake

Poole Road pecan grove

State Street Greenway Violets

2007-12-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

The State Street Greenway meets Walnut Creek at State Street just south of Carnage middle School. It then follows the creek to a large marshy area right behind Women's Prison. Here you can see red-shouldered blackbirds and hawks, along with some unusual wetland plant specimens.

The Haw River at 15-501

2007-12-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

The Haw River is some of the best rock clambering ( and, in high water, kayaking) in the area.

Some quiet water splits off just below the dam.

Crowder Park on 1010

2007-12-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Crowder Park is relatively new, tucked away into the pine woods off State Road 1010, which runs a straight line east to west from Hiway 50 across 401 to Apex south of Raleigh. Cardinal Flower grows by watersides. The turtle below is probably a hibrid slider - local ponds are abundant with these basking turtles.

Buckeye Trail's beginning

2007-12-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

The beginning (and oldest part) of the Raleigh

Greenway starts at Milburnie Road near Wake Med, where an old Raleigh landfill forms a meadow.

Soil Profile off Computer Drive

2007-12-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

Where Big Branch creek crosses the Beltline, it carves across the last "North Hill" with a vengeance, creating a soil profile that reflects thousands of year of accretion.

Greenway creek by Longstreet below Sawmill

2007-12-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

After a decidedly inauspicious beginning at Sawmill Road off Six Forks(see below), the top of the Raleigh greenway system quickly improves as it follows Longstreet down toward Lynn Road and Shelley Lake.

Raleigh Gneiss outcrop

2007-12-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

Behind Briggs Hardware on Atlantic, you can witness evidence of the metamorphosized "suspect terrane" which underlies most of Raleigh.

With thanks for the sighting to Chris Tacker of the NCMNS. Gneiss is a metamorphic rock which forms from granite and other igneous rocks. The slabs of earth's crust that make up the "Raleigh belt" did not come from N.A. nor Africa, but some small piece...

Dix Hill

2007-12-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

This grove is the center of controversy, but will itself probably survive whatever is to come.

Fall on "Dix Hill" - the name I grew up with, for a fantastic sledding site - complete with barbeque-fired hot chocolate!

One highlight of the open hillside is a string of productive pecan trees .

The Gazebo

Rocky Branch was straightened and shifted during the Western Boulevard extension, but is slowly re-establishing itself.

Fall Colors on the Beltline

2007-12-08T10:50:00.001-08:00

Just southwest of Jones Franklin Road

Bike Gulleys in woodlot off Atlantic Ave.

2007-12-08T07:43:00.001-08:00

Marsh next to Atlantic Avenue at Hodges. This area drains the old farm behind the Bojangles, which is currently under concstruction

Mountain bikers built insane structures here - but now it's gone!.

Blue-eyed Grass

2007-12-08T07:21:00.001-08:00

This specimen is right beside the greenway off Atlantic Ave.

Six Forks tour

2007-12-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

200 Kinds of Wine & Live Bait!

and now biodeisel!

Longstreet Greenway

Mr Kane's new project

Big Branch emerges south of the beltline

young slider at the Longbranch gar hole

greenway at the Longbranch

dead-end of Six Forks into Crabtree

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back to Six Forks essay at

The Natural History of Raleigh

yellow-bellied Sliders on Crabtree

2007-11-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

Turtles basking on Crabtree at Capitol Blvd.

Raleigh Swamp Flower

2007-11-12T18:03:00.001-08:00

The drowned trees create a lonely, slightly surreal atmosphere.

Lassiter Mill

2007-11-12T18:01:00.001-08:00

Above is some henbit at Lassiter Mill. Below is the millstone that is part of the historical display.

A pillar of the old mill

view from Lassiter Mill rock

return to Raleigh Nature (main site)

Lake Raleigh

2007-11-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

A great blue heron soars above Lake Raleigh which nestles in below Centennial campus and is surrounded by rich natural areas.

new rec area

flowers being kudzued at Lake Raleigh

Environmental Design student project at Centennial

From Centennial Campus looking at dam

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return to

The Natural History of Raleigh

Jaycee Park rockfall and bridge

2007-11-12T14:47:00.001-08:00

A two foot waterfall and a cool pool are highlights here! Jaycee is the prettiest nature walk inside the beltline.

That's not a turkey!

2007-11-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

Guinea hens on Auburn Knightdale Road

I wrote about these guys at RDUWTF.

East Hargett St. Box Elder

2007-11-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

Wow! This is my record specimen so far.

return to Raleigh Nature

Crabtree Creek on Buckeye Trail

2007-11-11T17:47:00.001-08:00

Buckeye Trail is the oldest section of the greenway, running from Milburnie Road near Wake Med, upstream to Crabtree’s intersection with Capital Boulevard at the old Farmer’s Market.

The Raleigh Naturalist

2007-11-11T16:46:00.001-08:00

Raleigh lies at the edge of the Piedmont, edging the eastward coastal plain with long ridges of ancient, deformed and partly rotted granite called the Raleigh Belt on geology maps. Tucked into these ridges are gnarled streamcut valleys and occasional domes of harder, younger granite that have withstood the slow erosion of the Piedmont “peneplain” - the huge flattened wedge of material washed down over millions of years from the formerly towering Appalachian mountains. The topographical features of the Piedmont are not pushed or folded up, but instead cut into this gently sloping plateau by the slow relentless action of water. “Our landscape … deepens”, says Michael Godfrey in the bible of Piedmont naturalism. In Raleigh, this process has created a broad rippled dome that shoulders down to the beginnings of the Coastal Plain. The gently rolling hills of clay to our west and north represent a very different landscape from the sandy flats just to our south and east.
I learned this topography bicycling around central Raleigh ( which, in the late fifties and early sixties, was all the Raleigh there was). I experienced this topography gravitationally and intuitively. As a teenager I discovered that downtown sat on a flattened dome, so that if I got a good start in the parking lot of Tabernacle Baptist Church on Person Street, I could ride all the way home from choir practice no hands, nearly all the way going downhill to my suburb at the edge of Crabtree Creek’s floodplain in East Raleigh. As a young child in this neighborhood, I has already fallen in love with Crabtree Creek, which along with Walnut Creek to the south, carves and shapes Raleigh’s lowlands. Crabtree became a strong symbol in my life, framing a big chunk of my childhood memories and haunting my early bad poetry. Now as an adult I find the city has paved and bridged all of my childhood creek haunts and more, providing a greenway system that maps the waterways and helps defend a buffer of streamside woods that is the final refuge for an astounding variety of wildlife and botanical wonders. These gar, coons, deer, turtles and woodpeckers eke out a co-existence with an emerging mid-sized city. Raleigh wants and tries so hard to be a “real” city, with all that implies. Yet it retains some of the best features of a Southern town, not least of which is close proximity to authentic rural landscape. And one of the best and most-promoted urban features is the park and greenway system. With much continued support, this resource can assure us of a unique place in the hierarchy of national destinations. Join me to explore Raleigh’s parks, greenways, and other natural areas. I promise you will be impressed by the sights and nature lore to be found inside the beltline or within a mile of it.

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