Do you have a gardening question? NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers are available to answer your questions about lawns, vegetables, flowers, trees and ornamental plants; disease, insect, weed or wildlife problems; soils (including soil test results) and fertilizers; freeze and frost damage; and cultural and chemical solutions to pest problems. 

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) recommends that homeowners check now for bats that may be getting into their home and evict them responsibly before pup-rearing season begins on May 1. 

Many of the first signs of springtime are subtle. There are little shifts in the breeze as the sun begins to feel a bit warmer and remains in the sky a little bit longer each day. Birdsong increases morning and evening, and other flying beings begin buzzing around looking to forage some pollen and nectar. 

Before Becky and I retired up Moses Creek, I made my living as a backpack and canoe guide here in the Blue Ridge and in other parts of the country.