Summer weather always generates an interest in fishing, and over the ages there has been a lot of weather lore about when is a good time to go bait a line One example is that wind direction supposedly affects how well fish bite. Wind out of the west and south are supposedly good for fishing, while winds out of the north and east are not. There has been some research on this one, and so far there is no scientific backing for this method.

The way a turtle is put together is pretty much the reverse of ours. I mean look at it: we have soft body parts protecting a hard-inner skeleton. Turtles have a hard-outer skeleton protecting inner soft body parts. The most common turtle you'll run into around here (and one you probably aggravated when you were a kid) is the eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina).

Trees have been appreciated since the beginning of history, and are reflected in the earliest writings recorded. The Old Testament Bible mentions trees from one end to the other, using them both metaphorically and literally to teach wisdom that would be remembered. What follows is a small sampling of quotes from the Bible using modern text.

Most people envision that when Europeans first came to America there was a vast, unbroken expanse of trees stretching from the coast to the western plains. This is our vision of a wilderness, forests untouched and unchanging. Research however indicates that the history of our forests has been one of constant change

I am presently paying a price for all the off-trail hiking and field wanderings I do. I have the worst attack of chiggers I’ve ever had…well over a hundred bites. They are almost microscopic, yet pack a wallop of misery.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

I don’t know of anybody that doesn’t have a fear response when they stumble across a snake in the woods or the tool shed. The usual reaction is to jump back and express a four-letter metaphor. I do it myself, even though I know that snakes are mostly harmless, and the poisonous ones rarely strike a human unless really provoked. But all that knowledge goes out the window when I first see a snake, and I’m instantly in a “get out of here” mode.

Biodiversity is a big deal in ecology science these days. The dictionary defines it simply as the variety of living things in a particular area or region. Opinions on the importance of biodiversity vary, but to me the loss of native plant or animal species means something’s wrong, and rightfully raises some concerns.

By: Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
If you fish and have room in your landscape for a tree, the catalpa may be for you. It supports a worm that is superb bait for bluegill and catfish. The common name used around here is Catawba tree, and has also been called Indian bean and cigar tree. The books call it northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa).

If you have a landscape with trees, you may be forced to take one down for some reason. The remaining stump is normally an eyesore, forcing many to resort to a costly stump removal service. There are solutions to the problem if you are patient

It is often assumed that small trees are young and large ones old. But I've seen large trees that were only 50 years old, and others the size of fence posts over 100. Individual trees grow at different rates based on their genetics and growing conditions.