Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) is my favorite of the pines. It is a beautiful tree to behold with its long straight trunk of map-patterned bark. It and Virginia pine are the most common pines found in our area, and can be found in almost any woodland hike. They are easy to tell apart just by looking at the trunk. Shortleaf usually has few limbs, whereas Virginia is very limby and often has dead stubs sticking out. Also, Virginia tends to hang on to its old pine cones, so they will appear numerous in the tree. Another commonly used name for shortleaf is yellow pine.

Turkeys have been in the Americas for a very long time. Fossil records show they were around 11 million years ago and were likely distributed continuously from middle latitudes of North America to northern South America during the Pleistocene Era. The Aztec Indians were the first to domesticate the bird, and it became an important staple to their diet. The Navajo gave up on keeping them away from their scanty desert corn crops, and instead began feeding the turkeys and fence them in. The invading turkeys unwittingly provided a dependable source of protein and ornamental feathers.

Those under the age of 50 probably don’t remember Euell Gibbons, a promoter of eating food gathered from the wild. He wrote a book that still sells well called Stalking the Wild Asparagus, and made commercials for Grape Nuts cereal with the famous line: “Ever eat a pine tree?” Anyway, I took down his book again and enjoyed rereading his passion for wild things. I’ve tried several of Euell’s recipes, including acorn bread.

I’ve written several articles about our native white tail deer, and every time I do my research I get inundated with information. White tail deer is the most popular game animal in eastern U.S., and there’s been a lot written about it.

A popular pastime when my mom was growing up on a Tennessee hillside farm was to go out and find some rabbit tobacco, crush it and roll it up in some brown paper from a poke (that’s a bag to you young folk), and smoke it. I don’t know how the tobacco tasted, but that paper must have been strong!

I’ve commented before that mountain people tend to hang onto old traditions, many deeply rooted in European (especially Scots-Irish), African, and even Native American ancestry. With the Halloween season approaching I thought I’d cover some paranormal-ish superstitions that I learned through my family or heard locally. I’m betting you’ve heard at least one or two yourself.

This time of year you usually see news articles explaining why leaves change color and how good the fall colors will be. I’ve written plenty of them myself, but never covered the subject of why tree leaves fall off in the first place. So here goes…

By: Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Indian summer is a name that brings thoughts of balmy, hazy fall days and cool nights. It is a description of weather conditions rather than an actual season, for no dates exist for it. The closest time frame I could find was from Henry David Thoreau, who noted in his diary that Indian summer occurs from September 27 to December 13.

The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is probably the favorite game species in our area, and spotting one always gives me a small touch of “wildness”. They have a complex and intriguing lifestyle.

Fall is a great time to plant trees, as it allows the tree roots to settle in and get established during the dormant season, making it better prepared for the Spring growth spurt and summer heat. You can plant even in early winter as long as the soil is not frozen. Here are some tree planting guidelines: