Nature Features from Lee County, Virginia, and the vicinity. I lived on and inventoried a 170 acre tract of private property near Dryden in the southwest tip of Virginia.

Mon Apr 28 13:26:55 EDT 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: The morning woods was a cacophony of sound - mostly
Red-eyed Vireos, Scarlet Tanagers, and Wood Thrushes with Ovenbirds 
yelling as loudly as they could to be heard above the rest.  

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Sun Apr 20 07:05:47 EDT 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Wood Thrush!

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Tue Apr 15 16:24:27 EDT 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Paw-paws are in full bloom and Zebra Swallowtails are 
laying their eggs on the new leaves.  

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Wed Apr  9 16:48:35 EDT 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: A brilliant red-orange eft took advantage of the rainy 
day to go for a stroll across the leaf litter.

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Mon Oct 21 13:56:07 EDT 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: The first White-throated Sparrows have arrived!  Winter is 
here!

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Mon Oct 28 13:16:54 EST 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: Elongate Ravine Salamanders were out in the rain on a 
wooded hillside.

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Sat Nov  2 17:42:20 EST 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: I awoke to sparkles coating the ground.  First frost!

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Sun Nov 10 07:43:50 EST 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: I could smell the fallen leaves as I walked through sunny
woods.

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Thu Nov 14 12:51:47 EST 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: Puckery persimmons - not quite ripe.

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Thu Nov 21 11:56:00 EST 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: A very brief snow knocked nearly every leaf from the
trees.  Now the woods is brown, but not silent.

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Tue Dec  3 11:58:30 EST 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: A Brown Creeper, aptly named, crept up the trunk of an
oak beside me.

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Sat Dec 28 18:31:37 EST 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: A tiny Pixie-Cup held one frozen droplet of water within
its lichen goblet.

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Tue Jan 14 14:53:20 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Five robins stood on the roof, drinking snow melt.

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Mon Jan 20 12:55:26 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: The temperature has finally climbed above freezing and
the snow melt is trickling slowly down into the soil.  

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Fri Jan 24 07:44:46 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Wind blew gusts of cold snow from the branches.  

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Fri Jan 31 18:05:57 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Brilliantly colored Turkey Tails stacked fungus upon
fungus up the trunk of a dead Ironwood.

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Wed Feb  5 10:54:57 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: The birds welcome every sunny day now with a burst of 
song.

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Mon Feb 10 18:19:44 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Snow fell all day and melted all day, so by evening we 
had just a little less snow than we'd started with this morning.

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Sat Feb 15 14:15:05 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Rain, rain, rain, buckets of rain.  (Buckets of rain 
means 4 inches in thirty hours and still raining.)

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Mon Feb 17 09:46:20 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: From the porch, I could hear the roar of water rushing 
off the hill.

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Thu Feb 20 09:46:41 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: The sweet song of the Carolina Wren was magnified by the  
cove.

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Sat Feb 22 17:18:20 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Spring!  Another deluge, then a day warming up to the 
high 60's!

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Wed Feb 26 10:43:55 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Autumn Olives are leafing out!  

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Wed Mar 12 08:29:58 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Tiny red arms curl out of red maple flowers like fuzzy 
sea anemones.

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Mon Mar 17 11:15:39 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Pure white hepatica flowers grace the rocks above the
cave.

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Sun Mar 30 11:05:39 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: I went away for a week, but spring didn't wait for me.  
A vireo has arrived and new leaves are everywhere!

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Sun Mar 30 11:11:50 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: In like a lamb, out with 3 inches of snow!

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Wed Apr  2 15:12:49 EST 2003

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NATURE FEATURE: Butterflies on the wing on these hot afternoons.

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Mon Oct 14 11:28:53 EDT 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: Common Buckeyes floated over the open fields.  (Butterfly 
names are wonderful, but sometimes a little misleading...)

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Thu Oct 10 15:49:15 EDT 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: Whee - marking boundaries in the rain!  Counting as I pace
- "one thousand five hundred and one, one thousand five hundred and
two"... :-)

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Thu Oct  3 15:11:55 EDT 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: A female hummingbird hovered close to me, checking out my 
bright orange, anti-hunting vest.

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Sun Sep 29 10:20:43 EDT 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: The Swainson's Thrushes were peeping, replying to each    
other just like Spring Peepers.

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Thu Sep 26 08:48:04 EDT 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: A Tanager struck an insect in mid-air, then swooped after 
it as it fell, landing five feet away from me.  

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Sat Sep 21 07:27:35 EDT 2002

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NATURE FEATURE: The clouds glower at me nearly every day here.  Some 
mornings the fog lies low between the hills, only to lift as the day warms 
up.

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Mon Sep  9 11:07:22 EDT 2002; Roan Mountain, Tennessee

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NATURE FEATURE: On the side of Roan Mountain, Sugar Maple leaves were already 
turning orange.

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