Performer. Writer. Director. Instructor. Photographer. 

A severe drought. A moderate but steady wind that’s coming from the north and very dry. Parched leaves swirling everywhere. 

To the Editor:

As yellow falling leaves and cool, dry air are floating into the mountains, it signals to knowledgeable residents that it’s time to look up.

This time of year, as the wind rustles the leaves and the shadows begin to elongate as the sun lingers lower on the horizon, the veil between the worlds seems to grow thinner and thinner.

Among my favorite plants to teach to children is jewelweed (Impatiens capensis & I. pallida).

I hiked up the ridge behind our house early one July morning and saw an eastern box turtle with a millipede in its mouth.

A Cherokee Preservation Foundation grant awarded in March is allowing the N.C. Arboretum’s ecoEXPLORE program to deliver monthly environmental programming for kids at locations throughout Cherokee.

Go birding at Buck Spring along the Blue Ridge Parkway with an expedition meeting 8 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at Jukebox Junction in Bethel.

Howard Browers will lead the walk. Loaner binoculars are available. Cost is $10. Sign up at bit.ly/haywoodrec.

Catch a doubleheader in mountain education with a pair of programs offered through the University of Tennessee Smoky Mountain Field School Saturday, Aug. 19.

Author and biologist David George Haskell will delve into the captivating world of sonic communication and its profound impact on the planet’s evolution and cultural tapestry during a lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 27, at the Highlands Nature Center in Highlands.