By Steve Roark
Volunteer Interpreter, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
If you hike in the woods late summer into fall you are likely to have a face to literal face run-in with spiderweb.
The culprit is the spiny orb weaver, who has a knack for building webs across trails at eye level. The number of webs increase this time of year as the spiders increase their food energy intake to be able to lay eggs before hard winter sets in.

This fall looks to be a good year for nut producing trees like hickory and beech, and oak acorns aren’t looking bad either. Fruit and nut production varies from year to year, and the reasons are many.

The dictionary defines a forest as "a tract of land covered with trees and underbrush." That's probably the way a lot of people think of the forest, but I submit to you that a forest is more than a bunch of trees.

Everyone who has walked off the beaten path has had an unfortunate run in with sawbriar (Smilax glauca). It's the green woody vine that wraps around your legs and proceeds to slice into your skin with sharp thorns.

The more I learn about plants the more I realize they are not the inanimate life forms they seem to be. Yes, animals are cool with the leg and wing thingees that allows them to move about and get our attention. But plants now, plants stand there quiet all day long and perform a miracle: they make things appear out of thin air.

Sweet tasting blueberries are a popular food for animals and humans in mid to late summer. Blueberry jam or fresh blueberries on top of some corn flakes is hard to beat.
We have several types of wild blueberries in our area, but they all have similar features. All are shrubs with many branches, with two-inch leaves that are spear shaped, smooth edged, and a short stem. The spring blooming flowers are small, white, and bell-like.

The hummingbird needs no introduction since everyone at one time or other has been mesmerized by its bright color, tiny size and amazing aerial abilities.

There are several hundred species of hummingbirds in the world, but only one is found in the eastern US, the Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). It is around 3 inches long and weighs only one-half ounce (hummingbirds are the smallest of the bird world). Both sexes have metallic green feathers and a long, straw-like bill. The male has a metallic red throat while the female has a white throat.

Normally I am a plant lover kind of guy, but there is a group of foreigners that I love to hate. They are classed exotic invasive plants, and they are determined to take over the world an acre at a time, disrupting native plants and ecosystems as they go. Probably the most notorious and recognized invasive in the south is Kuzdu (Pueraria montana). You don’t have to drive far to find its vines carpeting the ground, trees, buildings, and anything else standing in the way.

One of the joys of summer is watching bright colored butterflies flutter from flower to flower feeding on nectar. Some moths are also beautiful to see, but most tend to be dull in color and only seen at night. Because of this you probably notice more butterflies than moths, even though there are four times as many moth species as butterflies.

It intrigues me how trees are so often intertwined with our culture and history. The July celebration of our Independence is a good time for a history lesson. The Liberty Tree was an elm tree in Boston where protesters of English rule would congregate. It became a symbol of individual liberty and resistance to tyranny, and during the Revolutionary War several flags were designed with a tree that represented the Tree of Liberty. One flag in particular had an important message.