The Bent Twig Trail and other trails throughout Bernheim may have lost most of their autumn color, but vibrant surprises can still be found. Look carefully as you walk the trail and you will be rewarded with the charms of our native eastern wahoo, Euonymus atropurpureus. The genus Euonmymus is one of 55 genera belonging […]
Tales from Bent Twig Trail: Why Names Matter
Wherever I am, the landscape speaks to me. I find familiar friends among the plants and animals I encounter. This week’s walk on the Bent Twig Trail was no exception. I was greeted by chickadees flitting about in the understory of spicebush trees and a pair of wrens scolding me from the branches of a […]
Trails from the Bent Twig Trail: National History and Medical Mystery
This angelic looking wildflower may have shaped our history as a nation. White snakeroot, Ageratina altissima (formally Eupatorium rugosum) is common along the Bent Twig Trail and is in full bloom right now. This perennial wildflower is viewed by most authorities as the likely culprit in the mysterious illness known as milk sickness, which led to […]
Tales from Bent Twig Trail: Not All is Touchable
It’s often been said that the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know; and just how much there is to learn. It does seem that the more I dig in and try to learn about the natural world, the more it appears that I’m just scratching the surface. But ah, isn’t it […]
Tales from the Bent Twig Trail: Learning to See
Learning to see involves knowing how and where to look. It requires developing a mental template, or the term I prefer, a searching image. I started to understand this concept decades ago while trying to find shark teeth on an island off the Georgia coast. Although this particular beach was known to have shark teeth […]