Everyone is aware of the safety tip of not standing under a tree during a thunderstorm, based on the likelihood that the tallest objects are most likely to be struck by lightning. But there’s more to being struck than just being tall.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Ticks season is officially here, though to be honest I was pulling them off me in January. With ticks come the concern of getting some serious illnesses they can carry. So be on guard to protect yourself and your family.

Thunderstorms are common during the hot afternoons of summer, and some folks (like me) are invigorated by all the wind, flashes of light, and noise... a sort of natural fireworks show.

Biodiversity remains a big deal in ecology circles 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 any plant or animal species means something’s wrong, and rightfully raises some concerns.

Mountains seem to be a universal attraction to people no matter where they come from. To those who were born and raised in them, they are especially endearing because they were the constant backdrop of our lives: their beauty, their challenges, and their molding of the culture of our ancestors that was passed on to us. Mountains are special, but what is it about them that everybody falls in love with? This will sound over-simplistic, but the answer is their three-dimensional terrain. Let me explain.

Paulownia is most often noticed when it blooms in the Spring, right now in fact. Its large tubular purple blooms are quite showy along roadsides.

Paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa) is also called royal princess tree, empress tree, and lilac tree. It is not native to the U.S. but was introduced as an ornamental landscape tree around 100 years ago. It’s a very prolific seed producer and has since spread until it can now be found everywhere, especially along roadsides and other disturbed areas.

Violets are very abundant this time of year and are probably the most common and the easiest to identify family of spring wildflowers in our area. You can find them about anywhere, especially even in your yard right now unless you’re a grass purist who uses herbicides.

It’s time to be on the lookout for Pink Lady’s-slippers, which normally bloom from late April to mid-May. They are one of the most striking flowers of the woods, but for all its beauty, has a bit of a sinister side, especially if you’re a Bumblebee.
Pink Lady’s-slipper, also called Moccasin Flower, does indeed look like a roundish shoe with its large, pink, bowl shaped flower, making it hard to miss on a hike in the woods. The flower has a slit opening in the front for pollinators to access, and always has two large, twin-like leaves with deep, parallel veins growing at the base of the plant. It prefers to grow in dry woods under a mix of oak and pine trees. Pink Lady’s-slipper is in the orchid family and is one of two shoe-like wildflowers, the other being Yellow Lady’s-Slipper, which prefers moist sites found in hollows and near streams.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

I like looking over topographic maps, and I got to pondering all the different forms of water flow that show on a map. We have rivers, creeks, streams (also called brooks), and springs. I found myself asking what makes a creek a creek and a river a river? I assumed there was some size classification set up so that if a body of flowing water was so many feet wide it was a river. Research revealed that a creek is a vague concept.

By: Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

You may not be familiar with Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), but I know you’ve seen it. It’s the earliest native tree to bloom in the woods (late March to early April) and is very striking on a hillside forest still barren and brown from winter. There is another unfortunate early blooming white flower produced by Bradford pears that are being spread by birds and is a bad invasive plant that competes with native trees.