If you drive down the road right now and see patches of blue in the green hayfields and pastures, it’s liable to be Lyre-leaf Sage. I have a lot of it in my fields for the first time that I can remember, as does my neighbors. It’s always been around, but I normally only see it along roadsides and field edges. It is in the same family of plants as the herbal sage used in cooking and such.

From personal observation and talking with others, it seems to be a good year for carpenter bees, as there are plenty of them. Usually when I get asked about them it’s how to get rid of them.

Earth Day was April 22nd and it continues to be an annual reminder that we humans impact the planet’s resources in negative ways. And since our population continues to grow and most resources are finite, it would behoove us to save some for the grandkids on down the road. Doing so includes a personal reward of conserving both resources and money. Here are some ways to do it.

Faucet Fix: Many modern faucets include aerators, which simply add bubbles to the water to increase its volume. If you have old ones, aerators can be added so you use 50% less water.

Since I’m in the woods a lot it’s reasonable to assume that I would have more ticks get on board and use me as a meal. But for the first time that I can remember I pulled ticks off every month of the year, including the winter months when they are normally dormant. That’s not right people! All of them have been the smaller deer tick, which are harder to see and feel crawling around. Now that your family is outside more with the warmer weather, best start body checking yourself and the kids. Since it’s good to know your enemy, here is a rundown on the tick lifestyle.

A family tradition my mom kept was to seek out young poke sprouts in the spring and make poke salad, a king of cooked green. Back before grocery store chains and refrigeration, country folk came out of winter craving a fresh green to eat, and poke was one of the newly sprouted plants that were sought out, along with “creesies” or spring crest.

In an earlier article I discussed the use of astrological signs to know when to plant garden and farm crops and have kin that still hold to them. Another method is using moon signs, or more properly moon phases to tell not only when to plant but also when it’s a good time to kill unwanted vegetation. In researching the subject, I have found no scientific backing for using the Zodiac or body signs, but planting by the moon may have something to it. The moon exerts strong influences on the earth, such as light, gravitational pull, and magnetism.

My grandma and grandpa Roark were really into doing farm activities according to the signs, be it planting crops, killing weeds, or dehorning cattle. And their preference was to go by a system that used human body part signs to tell when to do things: plant root crops when the signs are in the head and kill weeds when the signs are in the bowels. I grew up hearing this stuff and had no clue what they were talking about, except that they always used a calendar given out by one of the local banks that indicated what the signs were on a particular day.

An opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Powell River is coming up on April 20, when the fifth annual Powell River Regatta will take place in Claiborne County near Tazewell. This 12-mile float will let you compete (if you wish) for cash prizes in various age groups/genders and canoe and kayak styles (single or double). If you don’t want to compete, you can still get some exercise while enjoying some memorable scenery. Blue heron, ducks, kingfisher, and even ospreys and eagles have been seen during past events, and spring wildflowers will be in full swing.

If you read my stuff much, you know that I am unabashedly proud to be mountain bred. I love our southern Appalachians mountains. The terrain, the climate, the plants and animals, the culture and history, all blend together to form a unique place to live.

Something I like to do when hiking in the woods is to look out for old house sites. It’s maybe not as grand as finding ancient ruins in Rome or South America, but it’s still historic evidence that someone was here during an earlier time and impacted the land. It’s still archeology, just more recent, say within the last 200 years. Like ancient ruins, usually the only manmade structures remaining are stonework, such as chimneys, foundations, and retaining walls.